Your Stake in WETLANDS

Whaf Wetlands Are
Their Importance to You
What*5 Happening to Them

Marine Biological Laboratory!

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WUUDS HOLE, MASS. j

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FOREWORD

On October 4, 1901, the "wetlands bill" became Public Law 87-383 and the Congress was authorized
to approiii-iate up to ?10ri million as a loan fund to accelerate the program of the Bureau of SiKirt Fisheries
and Wildlife to acquire by purchase or lease a nucleus of wetlands for waterfowl nuinagement purposes.

In the face of increasdng demands on the lands and waters of our Nation, it has become apparent
that a vital nucleus of our most valuable habitat can be preserved for wildlife only through public owner-
ship or control.

This acquisition program will involve all i)arts of the country and many types of wetlands. While
the loan fund is repayable from duck stamp sales and the primary goal is preservation of waterfowl habitat,
the maintenance of sufficient wetlands to supply the needs of the various species of waterfowl will also
contribute greatly to the requirements of most wetland-dwelling plaut.s and animals. It is truly a far-
reaching program in which we all have a stake.

WHAT ARE WETLANDS?

Lowlands covered even tenipoi-arily by water not more tlian 6 feet deep are wetlands. They are
classified into many types. Tlie water over all is shallow, but all hold water long enough to grow
moist-soil plants. The i)asture pond is a wetland. The vast coastal marshes are wetlands. The
moimtain beaver meadow is a wetland. The river bottoms of the south, the potholes of the northern
prairies, and the mai-shes around Great Salt Lake — all are wetlands. In l!)5(i, we had 74 million
acres of them.

WHAT WETLANDS MEAN TO YOU

"Wetlands are a part of our national resource estate. Tliey are important to —
The himter
The fisherman
The photographer

All of us — for .spoil, hobby, rela.xation, and as a place just to get out of doors. This resource
estate yearly provides dividends to millions of us in the form of hunting and fishing alone. We cannot
estimate tlie numl)t'r of Americans who make withcb-awals from the estate in the form of intangible
recreation.

Wetlands ai-c also important to — -

The trapper The farmer

The commercial fisherman The resort owner

The oysterman The sporting goods storekeeper

Tiie iiunting guide The gasoline serviceman

For all or part of their income

Some of tiiese people make llicii' li\ing from the wildlilV and fish of tiie wetlands. Some profit
from the nearly $4- billion spent annually foi- huntiiiii- aiul sport fisliing alone.

WAlERFQWi

W. L. Miller

The Dividend

Whether he hunts or not, the wildfowler under-
stands the vahie of these wethmds. Areas that
attract waterfowl in autumn come high. Tliey are
the harvest areas, and may sell or lease for more
than good cropland.

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The Duck Factory

Water, vegetation, and sky are only part of the autumn marsh. It is the birds tliat give it life.
Prairie potholes of the North Central United States and South Central Canada raise slightly more
tlian half of tlie continent's ducks. Both shallow and deei)er water areas are needed on the In-eeding
grounds. Adults use the small temporary water areas for resting spots, courtship, and nesting sites.
When these areas go dry the deeper ponds raise the l)roods. A shortage of one tyjie reduces tlie \alue
of the otliers.

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f..9. Koil Coti!<erLation Ifrrvier

Other duck breeding grounds tluougliout the rnited States are widespread and varied. Indi-
vidualh-, few are impressive. Together, they raise tlie lliglits of waterfowl that give tiie autunui marsh
life — and value.

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The Safe Deposit

Many refuges are man made and are saiu'tuaries l)y law. Otliers are broad open waters difficult.
to himt. Each refuge plays a part in sending waterfowl north to renew the flights the following year.

The true value of the autumn marsh — its birds — depends on the iM-eservation of varied and widely
spaced wetlands.

WOODCOCK

SNIPE

RAILS

UPLAND GAME

y,'orth Carolina Wilillije Resources Commissinu

{.'.S. Soil ConKCrvatioti Seiiicc

A sora rail bursting from a Carolina marsh, a
snipe careening from an Oi'egon meadow, a wood-
cock exploding from a Connecticut thicket are all
products of many widely scatti'red wetland types.

Many a hunter has Idled his bag of rutl'etl grouse

by following the eilge of an aldei- swam]). Pheas-
ants often use weedy marsh edges for roosting
and for winter cover. Some upland game birds
could more accurately be cousideied dwellers of
wetlanilsthanof iiplanils.

WETLANDS BIG GAME

The wooded swamplands in tlie North and
Soutlieast are some of the best white-tail deer
and turkey range in the country. These large
tracts provide ample room for rambling hmits.

In only a few places is the moose now abundant
enough for hunting. He is even more important
as a symbol of remote wilderness. In fly season
and when the lily roots are their richest, this
valued animal is a wetland dweller.

b

L'.S. Foreftt Service

Xorth Caroiinn WiUJUfe Rcttourceit Commission

FUR

From tlie common muskrat, found on almost
any pond or stream, to the more secretive otter,
furbearers are an imjiortant source of h\eliliood
for a few and of sui)plementa] income for many.
Our major furbearers are all inhabitants of
wetlands.

For Recreation

The bhiegill siinfish coaxed from the weedy niaigiii of a small pond and the largeniouth bass lung-
ing near the marshy edges of a tidal estuary are both ])rodiicts of wetlands. Some of our most produc-
tive sport fisheries, particularly in the Soutli, are in shallow wetland areas.

FISHERIES

For C

ommerce

The oysters produced in salt marshes and shallow bays are an impoitant source of food and income.
Many marine fishes, such as menhaden and shrimp, depend on wetlands as nursery areas. These
important species spend crucial parts of their life cycles in tidal estuai-ies and marshes.

Alabama Dcparttneiit of Conserrntion

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t'anvashaok Duck

RECREATIONAL

DIVIDENDS

FOR ALL

Tliose who have seen a prairie marsh or wood-
land beaver pond come alive in spriiifj;. or watched
a flock of waterfowl wheel over a lake or into a
tidal marsh feel that they have as real a stake
in our wetlands as do the hunter and fisherman.

■luck Dcimiil

Xo technique has yet been devised, to express
the full value of this heritage in monetary terms
to the picnicker, the hiker, tlie camper, tlie photog-
rapher, the bird watcher. These people, among
whom are many hunters and fishermen, are diverse
in their appreciation of wildlife — all types of wet-
lands contribute to their enjoyment. Unfortu-
nately, the importance of this interest is often
underrated.

Blue-wlnged Teal

MasaachusettK Audubon Soticti/

Snow Geese

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THE ESTATE
DWINDLES

Farm Drainase

111 tlie HHi yeiirs before 1955, our wetlands were
reduced by 45 percent. Losses to agriculture ha\e
been extensive, and more than a million acres of
prairie potholes have been drained since 1943.
Larger thainage systems may include several
farms. Manj' drained lands produce good crops —
the cost of preser\iiig wetlands is high.

Dredsing — Siltation — Pollution

Coastal wetlands are seriously damaged when
channels are cut for mosquito control or for navi-
gation. The intricate balance between wet and
dry areas, fiesh and salt waters — the key to pro-
ductivity— is disrupted.

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Loui.MdiKi IVi(rf Lite and FishrriCH Commission

Stream Channelization

AVlien stream ciiaiinels are straightened, flood-
waters no longer overflow to attract ducks to the
l)()ttom lands. Tlie dredged spoil from channel
maintenance lills many marshes and tiie silt de-
stroys tlie productivity of downstream estuaries.
Pollution reduces and frequently destroys the
\alue of wetlands for fish and wildlife near urban
areas.

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REDUCING
LOSSES

'raine

Potfiol

es

The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and "Wildlife
has two programs in the pothole country:

A combination of purchase and easement.

Organized field contacts by Bureau personnel
to point out wetland values to landowners and
agencies assisting in drainage. Subsidies paid
for drainage and the landowner's anticipated re-
turns from crops raised on the additional land
limit the etl'ectiveness of this program.

Stock pond construction in the rangelands of
the western Dakotas and eastern Montana, pro-
duces some new habitat but does not compensate
for tlie natural wetlands lost.

s

U.S. Soil Co}i.'<cn'ntion Service

Other Wetlands

Conservation agencies, mainly State and Federal, are purchasing other types of threatened wet-
lands as rapidly as funds permit. These areas remain as wetlands but they may be managed to increase
their value to wildlife and to people: some to be sanctuaries and some to provide hunting and fishing.

Many State conservation departments and the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, through its small watershed program, create small wetland areas. When properly
designed and managed, these areas are \-aluable for fish and wildlife.

U.S. Soil Conservation Service

SAVE OUR WETLANDS

]50

Our wetlands are varied. In many forms they
have great value to many people. Efforts of
conservation agencies to purchase and manage
wetlands ciinnot alone do the job of preservmg
them : most wetlands must remain in private own-
ership «.s a tni-ft. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and AVildlife, in programs coordinated with other
wildlife agencies, seeks to preserve by public
ownership or control a nucleus of some of the best
remaining wetlands. It also seeks to encourage
preservation of those wetlands still in private
ownership.

The importance of presei'ving the larger
marshes and wildlife concentration areas is obvi-
ous to most of us. However, the national
significance of small prairie potholes in the north-
ern plains is more difficult to appreciate. This
circular explains why all of tlie programs to
preserve wetlands are important and warrant your
support.

A RESOURCE WORTH PRESERVING

Tlie Department of the Interior, created in 1849, is our Nation's De-
l)aitineiit of Natwnil Resources, concerned with management, conserva-
tion, and development of water, wildlife, fish, mineral, forest, and park
and recreational resources. It also has nuijor responsibilities for Indian
and Territorial affairs.

A.S America's principal conservation agency, tlic Department works to
assure that nonrenewable resources are developed and used wisely, that
jiark and recreational resources are conserved for the future, and that
renewable resources make their full contribution to the progre.ss, pros-
perity, and security of the Fnited States, now and in the future.

I ur sale by the Supcrintcnilcnt of nocumcnts. r..S. (lovcmment Printing OITux-
Washington Sil, DC. • Price IS cents

MBL WHOI Llbrsi

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE; 1962 O— 637954

5 WHSE 00228