What Are Wetlands

Okefenokee Swamp is a special kind of wetland.

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Wetlands are often described as transition zones between land and permanent water and that is the case along shorelines. However, there are lots of wetlands that do not transition to open water, so that definition is somewhat lacking. The US Corps of Engineers/EPA regulatory definition seems to describe wetlands best for me: "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."

So, wetlands can best be determined by three things: one, the presence of water for a good part of the year, though not necessarily all of it, but enough water to saturate soils and create conditions for number two, specific types of plants to grow there. Number three is that there is a change to the soil type to something that is readily identifiable as wetland soil.

The presence of water is easy to imagine in some instances such as the marshes at Market Lake WMA or when contemplating a swamp like the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. In these places there is standing water all the time, sometimes shallow, sometimes quite deep. These wetlands typically get their water from drainage of rivers or through canal diversions.

However, there are wetland types that do not get their water from on-ground sources. Some are entirely dependent on rainfall, others on groundwater where the water table is at or very near the surface. Often the source of the water is a prime identifier for the type of wetland that exists there.

The vegetation in wetlands is highly variable, depending on location and the type of wetland that is there. Some wetlands are very acidic by nature and plants that thrive there must be acidophiles, or acid-loving plants. Other wetlands are quite fertile and attract a wide variety of water-loving plants. Several of the most common plants are cattails, bulrushes, duckweed, a variety of sedges and meadow grasses. In fact, the Everglades, likely the largest wetland in the world, is nicknamed, the Sea of Grass. There are also wetlands that are comprised of mostly woody plants like cypress trees, maples, swamp oaks, willows, and tupelo. Some wetlands have very poor soils and carnivorous plants thrive there.

Soil is a determining factor for wetlands. Long periods of saturation combined with microbial action creates anerobic (without air) conditions that favor the buildup of organic material. In addition, microbial action can change elements such as iron, manganese, and sulfur into chemical reductions that cause the depletion of these elements in some areas and accumulation in others. These soils vary widely enough that there are entire field manuals developed to identify them. Collectively they are called hydric soils.

Wetlands come in many different sizes. From the giant Sea of Grass to the local back 40 that has a couple of small cattail choked areas, the EPA says that wetlands occur in every county and climate in this country.

Collectively, wetlands are incredibly diverse habitats. They may be permanently wet like the marshes at Market Lake, or they may dry out during some period of the year. Whatever the type, there is one last thing to know about wetlands: there are far fewer of them than there once were. “A new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals wetlands – 95 percent of which are freshwater—covered less than 6 percent of the lower 48 states as of 2019 – which is half the area they covered since the 1780s. The report also identifies that loss rates have increased by 50 percent since 2009 and that without additional conservation actions taken to protect these ecosystems, wetland loss will likely continue, reducing ecosystem benefits for people and habitat for fish, wildlife and plants.”

I guess we still haven’t learned the lesson Theodore Roosevelt taught: “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”

 

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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.