Judy Helgen
Wetlands
Wetlands are a very important part of the clean water system. They filter pollution and purify our water, store floodwater and replenish groundwater. Maintaining healthy wetlands in watersheds helps prevent rivers and lakes from becoming polluted.
Wetlands suffer from pollution, urban development, and highway and farm runoff, harming their ability to support life. Wetlands provide habitat for a wealth of wildlife: ducks, dragonflies, frogs, birds, fish and an amazing diversity of plants. With early melting, small wetlands become rich in invertebrates, providing necessary, life-giving food for reproducing waterfowl and their hatchlings.
The Bush Administration instructed the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to stop enforcing Clean Water Act protection for as many as 20 million acres of wetlands. Bush's directive removes safeguards for small streams and ponds that appear disconnected from major rivers and lakes. In regions of Minnesota, this policy leaves the majority of wetlands unprotected from dredging, filling and pollution. Even lakes may receive less protection.
In wetlands of high quality, many species are found. Here a
dragonfly is just emerging from its larval skin after spending
several months feeding on invertebrates in a healthy wetland.
(image courtesy of the North American Benthological Society)
This means dirtier water downstream, more flooding and fewer recreational opportunities for hunters and anglers who depend on clean water. And even the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, guardians of the state's water quality, is now routinely waiving federal permits for dredging and filling in wetlands, saying that developers must "self determine" whether they are meeting state water quality standards. It's a slippery slope, and the future for frogs and the integrity of our water resources are in question, unless we do something to prevent it.