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Phone: 608-221-1206 Ext. 14Address: |
Wisconsin is blessed with an abundance of clean, clear water. Our many lakes, rivers and streams are the envy of many out-of-state tourists that come here every year to enjoy our bounty. It’s a little-known secret that the key to this bounty is our wealth in wetlands, but there is growing concern that we are taking our rich wetland heritage for granted. Wisconsin had nearly 10 million acres of wetlands at the time of settlement, in all shapes and sizes, from shallow marshes to bogs, groundwater fens and wooded swamps. Today, only 5 million acres remain, much of which has been altered or degraded. Why should we care? Because wetlands are important to all of us.
Wetlands are critically important for many species of wildlife such as shorebirds, ducks, herons, mink, muskrats, and pheasants. Besides these high profile animals, numerous species of frogs, salamanders, dragonflies and a host of other insects are found in wetlands. In fact, wetlands are second only to tropical rainforests in biological productivity. Without healthy wetlands, there really would be a "silent spring" in Wisconsin.Water Quality Wetlands are vital to maintaining a clean, abundant water supply. They filter runoff by trapping sediment and pollutants and recycle them back into the basic building blocks of new plant and animal life. In addition to cleaning up our water, wetlands are very good at storing excess water, transferring it slowly back into the earth where it can recharge groundwater supplies. For many of us, this is the very water that we pull from our wells and drink. Storing excess water in wetlands helps us in another way - reducing floods. Wetlands store up to 330,000 gallons of water per acre at one foot of depth. Were it not for this storage ability, many of our rivers and streams would experience drastic shifts from flooding to stagnation and back to flooding each and every year. Wetlands moderate these extremes and ensure dependable year-round water flows - a function that is enormously important to the health of our state’s fishery. Enjoyment Wetlands not only work for us all the time to clean our water and produce our wildlife, they also supply us with that one intangible gift - their magical beauty. Whether you’re a hunter, trapper, photographer, bird-watcher, scientist or farmer, wetlands have a lot to teach us.
How do I get Started?To determine if you have a restorable wetland on your property, evaluate using the following:
What Happens Next? If a site visit verifies you have a restorable wetland, the FWS wetland biologist will offer you technical and financial assistance to restore the wetland. Financial assistance can involve cost-share dollars, materials, equipment or some combination of these. In return for financial and technical assistance, a management and maintenance agreement is prepared and signed by all participating landowners and the wetland biologist. This agreement shows the amount of financial assistance and the required maintenance period (a minimum of 10 years). What are my Responsibilities?Long-term maintenance is generally the landowner’s responsibility. For most projects, periodic inspection and cleanout of pipe entrances, spillways and occasional mowing is all that’s needed. To encourage the greatest wildlife use, disturbance in and around the restored wetland should be minimized.
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