Wetlands of International Importance: Ramsar Sites in the United States

The Ramsar Convention encourages the designation of sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or wetlands that are important for conserving biological diversity. Once designated, these sites are added to the Convention's List of Wetlands of International Importance and become known as Ramsar sites.

Over the last 50 years, Ramsar has designated more than 2,400 sites across the globe. These sites can be explored using their Site Information Service.

There are 41 Ramsar sites across in the United States totaling over 4.6 million acres. Twenty-three of these sites fall completely or partially within U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuges . These sites each exhibit unique habitats, providing essential ecological functions and homes for countless species.

Explore Ramsar sites in the United States with our Interactive StoryMap.

Story Tags

Habitat conservation
Wetlands