Before we can begin talking about how wetlands function and why they are important, we need a clear understanding of what a wetland is. Is it more than just “wet land”? If we want to protect our wetlands, we need a clear way of knowing if an area qualifies as a wetland.
People are beginning to understand that wetlands are valuable and need protection, so most places have laws against filling a wetland, draining a wetland, or otherwise destroying a wetland. Before someone can legally destroy a wetland they must get a permit from the government that gives them permission. This doesn’t mean that destroying a wetland is a good thing to do; it just means that in that particular case, the benefits of destroying the wetland are greater than the costs (harm) of destroying it.
If part of your yard was sometimes wet and sometimes dry, would you need a permit to build a building there? Or maybe fill it in to make a basketball court? What if you want to dig it up to have a swimming pool? Does a swimming pool still count as a wetland? The answer to whether you need a permit depends on exactly how you define a wetland.
(remember - red text is where you need to think and/or write before going further)
Start by thinking of what “wetland” means to you. What wetlands have you visited or seen pictures of? Does it matter how much water there is, or how deep, or how often? Does temperature matter? Can wetlands be tropical, temperate, or frigid? Does it matter if the water is salt water, or fresh water, or a little of both (called brackish)?
It might help to look at some pictures of wetland (Google image search). Make a list of all the features or characteristics that seem to be in most of the pictures of wetlands. Here is a wetlands definition worksheet (.doc .pdf .htm) to help you.
After you have written your own definition of wetland and have completed the wetlands definition worksheet (.doc .pdf .htm), look at some of the links below. These definitions are mostly written for adults so you might need some help understanding them. Does your definition seem accurate and complete? What changes could you make to improve your definition, or are there parts of the “official” definition you don’t understand or agree with?
List of short, one sentence definitions
Definition used by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) get adult help with this one!
Plain definition with some fancy vocabulary words
This definition is what we will use; note that there are 3 important features
All documents and materials on this web site are copyright 2008 David Dale unless otherwise noted. Permission is granted for use and reproduction for non-profit educational use only. Do not remove footer information from documents that credit David Dale. To cite this web site, specify either www.forthunt.org or www.allmywebs.com/ftes and the date (since the web site changes often). Contact me.
last update: December 17, 2007