What is a wetland?

The definition of wetlands can be complicated. Generally, a wetland is a land area that contains surface water at least part of the time, plus some of the adjacent area. Under the Wetlands Protection Act, wetlands include not only features full-time wet areas such as marshes and swamps, but also intermittent streams, floodplains, and other areas that may be dry during parts of the year. Commonly, many types of wetlands are known as bordering vegetated wetlands (BVW), which border features such as ponds or streams.