Water: Wetlands
Wetlands
What they are
Wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics, and on every continent except Antarctica. For regulatory purposes under the Clean Water Act, the term wetlands means "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."
Why they are valuable
Wetlands are recognized as important features in the landscape that provide numerous beneficial services for people and for fish and wildlife. Some of these services, or functions, include protecting and improving water quality, providing fish and wildlife habitats, storing floodwaters, and maintaining surface water flow during dry periods. These beneficial services, considered valuable to societies worldwide, are the result of the inherent and unique natural characteristics of wetlands.
How EPA protects them
The EPA's Wetlands Program is dedicated to protecting one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Wetlands protection programs are most effective when coordinated with other surface and ground-water protection programs and with other resource management programs, such as flood control, water supply, protection of fish and wildlife, recreation, control of stormwater, and nonpoint source pollution.
In the News
- 2012 A Function-Based Framework for Stream Assessment & Restoration Projects, EPA 843-K-12-006 (PDF) (344 pp, 24MB) Published
May 2012 - Updated 2012 National Wetland Plant List Published
May 9, 2012 - Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 2004 to 2009 report released
October 6, 2011
- About the Wetlands Program
- Agriculture
- American Wetlands Month
- Bird Conservation
- Compensatory Mitigation
- Constructed Wetlands
- Coral Reef
- Core Elements Framework
- Core Elements Framework - Wetland Program Development Grant- Eligible Actions/Activities
- Dredged Material
- Education
- Employment Information
- Enforcement
- Enhanced State and Tribal Wetlands Programs Initiative
- EPA Regional Wetland homepages
- Fill Material
- Financial Assistance
- Five Star Restoration Program
- Floodplain Management
- Forestry
- Geographic Jurisdiction
- Golf and the Environment
- Jurisdiction
- Landowner Assistance
- Laws and Regulations
- Mining
- Monitoring and Assessment
- Mountaintop Coal Mining
- National Wetland Awards
- National Wetland Condition Assessment
- Nationwide Permits
- Nonpoint Source Pollution & Wetlands
- Permitting
- Publications
- Reference Sediment
- Restoration
- Section 401 Certification
- Section 404 Exemptions
- State Programmatic General Permits
- State Revolving Fund (SRF) and Wetlands
- State/Tribal Assumption
- State, Tribal, and Local Initiatives
- Urban Stormwater & Wetlands
- Water Quality Standards
- Waters of the United States
- Wetland Fact Sheet Series
- Wetland Grants Database
- Wetland Program Plans
- Wetlands Photography Contest
- Wetlands Program Development Grants