Wetlands
Environmental Protection Agency
Grants | Initiatives | Regulation | Contacts | Links |
Wetlands are vital natural areas where water influences soil development and the ecosystem of plants and animals. There is a lot of Web-based information addressing what wetlands are, types, natural ecological functions, wetland loss, and the regulatory and planning mechanisms for wetland protection.
General Overview of Wetlands
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Office of Water (What are Wetlands?, Why Protect Wetlands?, How are Wetlands Protected?, etc)
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Watershed Academy (About the benefits or values, that wetlands provide)
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Stony Brook - Millstone Watershed Association (Wetlands Primer - table of contents)
Publications
You may request a copy of these materials from the Wetlands Helpline 1-800-832-7828.
Our region has a diversity of tidal and freshwater wetlands, including mangrove swamps and salt flats in the Caribbean, tidal salt marshes of the New York and New Jersey coasts, and coastal freshwater wetlands of the Great Lakes region. Interior regions also have a diversity of freshwater wetlands including swamps, bogs, fens, wet meadows, and marshes. Notably large wetland complexes in the region include the New Jersey Pinelands, the Hackensack Meadowlands and New York's Great Swamp. Notably rare wetlands in the region include sliding bogs, geologically unique fens and rare historically undisturbed bogs and swamps. Region 2 reference materials include two booklets:
- Wetlands of Saratoga County, New York
- Wetlands of Staten Island, New York
These were prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Services' National Wetlands Inventory program and report on the types and status of wetlands in those geographic areas.