Wetlands Introduction, Wetlands Month

Market Lake, near Roberts, Idaho, is one type of wetland called a marsh.

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Growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, I had no idea of what a wetland really was. We weren’t duck hunters and my only exposure to a wetland was pheasant hunting in North Salt Lake near the oil refineries. There we could hunt the small stands of thick cover of cattails and bulrushes that grew alongside several canals and associated mudflats. The mudflats were tough walking and even the dog wouldn’t go willingly into them to fetch a pheasant. Had you asked me my opinion then about wetlands, I would have responded with a less than glowing image from this brief exposure.

Through a career as a habitat biologist and photography and birding avocations, I have come to appreciate wetlands of many types as some of my favorite places to wander and observe. This change was gradual as I was schooled in wetland ecology by peers and mentors over the years, but I am so glad it happened.

What are wetlands? Here is one definition from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “Wetlands are the link between land and water, where the flow of water, the cycling of nutrients and the energy of the sun meet to produce a unique ecosystem characterized by hydrology, special soils and vegetation.” And here is a second definition from the same agency: “Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil.”

The US Corps of Engineers and EPA use the following definition for regulatory purposes: "Wetlands are areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas." Within those definitions there are a lot of different types of wetlands. The one thing that unifies all of them, besides water, is the fact that they are far more critical habitats and servants to mankind than we might have ever guessed just 100 years ago.

I recall a parable of sorts of a wealthy man, a falconer, who, wanting a drink of water, stepped off his horse and loosed his falcon while he scooped up a drink from the creek. Just as he was to drink, the falcon swooped in and knocked the cup from his hand. Perplexed the man scooped up another cup of water and the falcon once again knocked if from his hand, angering him. When it happened a third time, in a rage, he killed the falcon. Then he looked up stream and saw a rotting corpse of a deer in the stream and he realized that his precious falcon had been trying to protect him. For centuries, and it continues today, we have been like that man, destroying the things we want and need out of misunderstanding. Wetlands have been treated shabbily, looked at as unproductive wasteland, and only serviceable to mankind if they were drained and converted to “something useful” as we failed to recognize their true value.

May was designated as American Wetlands Month in 1991. This is a chance for agencies and citizens to recognize the importance of wetlands and be willing to protect them as the treasures they are. We need strong zoning laws to not only protect, but also to enhance wetlands. Zoning and other protective measures will only come if educated citizens demand it. Are we mature enough as a society to forego short-term gains for the long-term productivity of our landscapes?

For the month of May, I will be covering different aspects of wetlands, from the many kinds of wetlands as well as why wetlands of all types should never be looked at as wastelands again.

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Help Idaho Wildlife

When we traveled across the state in October 2017, most of the vehicles we saw using the wildlife management areas did not have wildlife plates. Buying wildlife plates is a great way for non-hunters and hunters alike to support wildlife-based recreation like birding.

C'mon folks, let's help Idaho's wildlife by proudly buying and displaying a wildlife license plate on each of our vehicles! 

See below for information on Idaho plates. Most states have wildlife plates so if you live outside Idaho, check with your state's wildlife department or vehicle licensing division for availability of state wildlife plates where you live. 

And tell them that you heard about it from Nature-track.com!

Wildlife License Plates

Great news! as of 2024, there are three NEW designs for license plates. They still are bluebird, cutthroat trout and elk, but they are beautiful.

Idaho Wildlife license plates provide essential funding that benefits the great diversity of native plants and wildlife that are not hunted, fished or trapped—over 10,000 species or 98% of Idaho’s species diversity. Game species that share the same habitats (such as elk, deer, antelope, sage-grouse, salmon, trout) also benefit from these specialty plates.

No state tax dollars are provided for wildlife diversity, conservation education and recreation programs. Neither are any revenues from the sale of hunting or fishing licenses spent on nongame species. Instead, these species depend on direct donations, federal grants, fundraising initiatives—and the Idaho Wildlife license plates.

Both my vehicles have Bluebird Plates. I prefer the bluebird because the nongame program gets 70 percent of the money from bluebird plates, but only 60 percent of the money from elk and trout plates - 10 percent of the money from elk plates supports wildlife disease monitoring and testing programs (to benefit the livestock industry) and 10 percent from cutthroat plates supports non-motorized boat access.

Incidentally, in 2014, the Idaho Legislature denied the Department of Fish and Game the ability to add new plates or even to change the name of the elk and cutthroat plates (very specific) to wildlife and fish plates, a move that would have allowed for changing images occasionally and generating more revenue. It would seem that they believe that we Idahoans don't want a well funded wildlife program.

I think it is time we let the Legislature know that Idahoan support wildlife funding and that we would like to see these generic plates come to fruition.