Why are wetlands important?

Since the United States was founded, over half of the wetlands that spanned the country have been lost. Development and agriculture are the main culprits, but ignorance has also been dangerously detrimental to wetlands. Looking in our own backyard, Back Bay in Boston is a great example of what happens when wetlands aren’t protected. The water quality has been severely degraded, wildlife and fish habitat has been lost, and storm damage and pollution have vastly increased.

Wetlands provide free services to the community, known as ecosystem services. The eight major interests of the Wetlands Protection Act seek to protect these services, and include: protection of public and private water supply, protection of groundwater supply, flood control, storm damage prevention, prevention of pollution, protection of land containing shellfish, protection of fisheries, and protection of wildlife habitat. The Holliston bylaw further states a multitude of other interests, including recreational values and protection of wildlife itself.

In storms, wetlands provide an area for the floodwaters to go. Water that has run off into wetlands eventually infiltrates into the soils, leaving behind sediment particles and other pollutants, and plants take up nitrogen and phosphorus, aiding in the water purification process (think of wetlands as nature’s kidneys!!) All the while, many species call wetlands their home, including turtles, birds, insects, fish, salamanders, frogs, toads… the list goes on. Notably, many of the rare and endangered species both locally and federally are wetland species that cannot adapt to the loss and degradation of their habitat.

In their natural state, wetlands provide many free services to the community. Low areas serve as flood ways to convey storm and other flood waters safely away, and act as buffers to prevent damage to nearby roads and buildings. Naturally forested riverfront areas slow flood waters and trap sediment and debris. These functions minimize the need for extensive (and often expensive) engineered flood management systems and seawalls. Wetlands also provide temporary storage of floodwaters, allowing floods to recede slowly and, in fresh water wetlands, to recharge groundwater.

In short, wetlands are endangered.