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Wetlands!

May marks the Annual American Wetlands Month, a time to celebrate some of nature's most productive ecosystems. May is the month to recognize and celebrate the wonderful ways wetlands enrich the environment and people. It is a time to give back to the environment by learning more about wetlands and participating in the many scheduled events. 

This annual celebration is a time to recognize and highlight the wonderful ways wetlands enrich the environment and human society. WHC encourages its members and partners to plan activities and events that help raise awareness of the critical role wetlands and other aquatic resources play in our environment and build support for the protection and restoration of these valuable ecosystems. Ideas for celebratory activities and events that could be planned in conjunction with American Wetlands Month include:

• Organizing a walk, canoe-trip, bird-watch or other outdoor activity at a local wetland  
• Planning a wetland or stream clean-up day  
• Holding an awards ceremony to recognize a wetland hero  
• Sponsoring a talk on wetlands  
• Starting or participating in a volunteer wetland monitoring group  
• Organizing a wetland festival

Introduction
Wetlands are among the Earth’s most important ecosystems, providing many benefits, including food and habitat for fish and wildlife; flood protection; erosion control; food for human consumption; water quality improvement; and opportunities for recreation, education and research.

May is the month to recognize and celebrate the wonderful ways wetlands enrich the environment and people. It is a time to give back to the environment by learning more about wetlands and participating in the many scheduled events. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proud to partner with other federal, state and local agencies and private organizations celebrating American Wetlands Month each May. Events are scheduled across the country to educate, involve and engage Americans who want to better understand the value of one of Earth's most important ecosystems.

ConocoPhillips' Hillside Habitat Area is one of two project locations at and near the Bartlesville Technical Research Center in Oklahoma that benefit many species of birds, amphibians and native plants. This project has been WHC certified since 2001.

History of American Wetlands Month
Wetlands Month was inaugurated in 1991 by EPA and its partners in Federal, State, tribal, and local governments and private and nonprofit organizations as a way to educate Americans about the worth of wetlands as a natural resource. Annual events, including national and regional conferences, have been staged. A broad range of people with ties to wetlands, including wetland scientists, educators, and public interest groups participate in these celebrations. The annual celebration of American Wetlands Month in May inspires and empowers people to work throughout the year to protect and expand wetlands.

Why Celebrate Wetlands?
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 highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands may not be wet year-round. In fact, some of the most important wetlands are seasonally dry transition zones. They are among the most valuable but least understood of all natural resources. They are an important transition zone in our Nation's watersheds - the vital link between land and water.

Fish and Wildlife Habitat
More than one-third of the United States' threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands, and nearly half use wetlands at some point in their lives. Many other animals and plants depend on wetlands for survival. Estuarine and marine fish and shellfish, various birds, and certain mammals must have coastal wetlands to survive. Most commercial and game fish breed and raise their young in coastal marshes and estuaries. Menhaden, flounder, sea trout, spot, croaker, and striped bass are among the more familiar fish that depend on coastal wetlands. Shrimp, oysters, clams, and blue and Dungeness crabs likewise need these wetlands for food, shelter, and breeding grounds.

ConocoPhillips' employees created this pond at the Hillside Habitat Area in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. A naturally eroded draw was dammed forming a pond to hold rainwater runoff. The result has been an increase in amphibians and water-loving birds, such as coots and ducks.

For many animals and plants, like wood ducks, muskrat, cattails, and swamp rose, inland wetlands are the only places they can live. Beaver may actually create their own wetlands. For others, such as striped bass, peregrine falcon, otter, black bear, raccoon, and deer, wetlands provide important food, water, or shelter. Many of the U.S. breeding bird populations-- including ducks, geese, woodpeckers, hawks, wading birds, and many song-birds-- feed, nest, and raise their young in wetlands.

Migratory waterfowl use coastal and inland wetlands as resting, feeding, breeding, or nesting grounds for at least part of the year. Indeed, an international agreement to protect wetlands of international importance was developed because some species of migratory birds are completely dependent on certain wetlands and would become extinct if those wetlands were destroyed.

(Reference: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1995b. America's wetlands: Our vital link between land and water. Office of Water, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds. EPA843-K-95-001.)

Wetlands are for the birds
Wetlands and birds are inextricably linked -- wetlands are homes and migration refueling places for one third of all bird species. Among the most productive ecosystems in North America, wetlands are biological "factories" of energy-rich resources vital to our birds. Many migratory birds stop on wetlands on the way to their winter or summer homes. If you visit a wetland in the fall or spring, you could see hundreds or even thousands of them.

International Migratory Bird Day, which takes place on the second Saturday in May each year, celebrates the incredible journeys of migratory birds between their breeding grounds in North America and their wintering grounds in Mexico, Central, and South America. The event encourages bird conservation and increases awareness of birds through hikes, bird watching, information about birds and migration, public events, and a variety of other education programs. Learn more about birding! 

What Are the Economic Values of Wetlands?
Wetlands have many economic values to our nation, our communities and to individuals. Wetlands are important for flood control, acting as buffers to absorb and reduce damage caused by flood waters. They help to remove pollutants from water, cleaning our streams and lakes and reducing the cost of treating our drinking water. Wetlands are important to our multi-billion dollar commercial fishing industry, providing a home to many species of fish and shellfish during their life cycles. Wetlands are great spots for fishing, canoeing and hunting, activities that add to our economy and are a source of tourist dollars as well.

Related Links

Join the Corporate Campaign for Migratory Bird Conservation to preserve and restore habitat along critical migratory bird routes in the Western Hemisphere.

Izaak Walton League of America offers a variety of materials and tools to help you become active in protecting wetlands in your watershed.

U.S. EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds provides resources and links to additional organizations.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service provides celebration ideas for American Wetlands Month and ideas about living in harmony with wetlands.

World Wetlands Day is an annual celebration of the vital importance of international wetlands to ecological and human health. It marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Each year since 1997, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular.