Types of Wetlands

Marsh habitat along the Denali Highway, Alaska. Alaska is fortunate to still have most of its wetlands.

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About 15 years ago, we had the opportunity to visit Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. Although the swamp was mostly stripped of its signature cypress trees over 100 years ago, it is recovering and we got to boat among some pretty impressive wetlands, although I didn’t think of them as wetlands at the time. To me, wetlands had cattails and bulrushes and sedges, not giant trees. What little I knew, even that far into my career.

Wetlands. Wet lands. That seems simple enough. If the land is saturated for a good part of the year, it is a wetland. End of story. Well, not quite. There are various types of wetlands and each type is unique. Here are some of the most common types.

1.       Swamps. The word swamp is often frightening thanks to stories about villains of the darkest sort residing there. Lawlessness, corruption, bugs, snakes, and mind-numbing fear combined to make swamps seem wholly undesirable, suitable only for draining and converting to other uses. However, a swamp is simply a wetland dominated by woody plants, such as cypress trees. A swamp is usually defined by the dominant woody vegetation, so there are many types, but the major classes are forested or shrub-dominated swamps. Some of the unifying characteristics of swamps include highly organic and nutrient rich soils which support a high diversity of plants and animals (and make them desirable for agriculture).

2.       Marshes. The most direct comparison to a swamp is a marsh. A marsh is a wetland dominated by emergent herbaceous plants such as cattails. There is standing water much of the year in a marsh, just as there is in a swamp. Marshes are the most common type of wetland in the country. Besides places like Mud Lake and Market Lake WMAs and Camas and Bear River National Wildlife refuges, other examples include the Everglades, prairie potholes, vernal pools and wet meadows. There are two classifications of marshes as well, non-tidal and tidal marshes. Tidal marshes are found along protected coastlines and may be freshwater, brackish or saline. Their unifying characteristic is that they are influenced by tides. Both marshes and swamps receive most of their water from surface sources such as rivers.

3.       Bogs. We each may have a particular image in our heads when the word, bog, is used. However, a bog is simply a wetland, “characterized by spongy peat deposits, acidic waters and a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss. Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater or streams. As a result, bogs are low in the nutrients needed for plant growth, a condition that is enhanced by acid forming peat mosses (EPA, Classification and Types of Wetlands).” Bogs typically form as sphagnum moss creeps out over the surface of a lake or pond or when a thick layer of moss on land prevents trapped water from escaping. Over time, the peat builds up into very thick layers. Plants that live in bogs must be adapted to low nutrients (such as carnivorous plants) and acid conditions (such as some members of the laurel family).

4.       Pocosins. Pocosins, Algonquin for “swamp on a hill”, are bogs that don’t have standing water, but have a water table very close to the surface. They are usually densely covered with evergreen trees and shrubs and subjected to fire every 10-30 years. This fire regime is important in maintaining a wide diversity of plant life. They are mostly found on the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Virginia to Florida. Their soil is usually a complex of sand, peat and charcoal.

5.       Fens. Fens are like bogs in that they form peat wetlands. The difference is that fens receive their water from sources other than rainwater, usually upslope sources. Because nutrients can come in with the water, fens have higher nutrient levels than bogs and are less acidic. They are very productive and support a wide variety of plants and animals. Like bogs, fens are mostly found in the northern regions of this country and are associated with short growing seasons, cool climates and lots of moisture.

That is a simplistic view of the types of wetlands. Each one deserves a column by itself as do each of the sub-types. We would be wise to be far more considerate to these guardians of our environment.

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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.