Volume 1, Issue 4

What you can do!

As awareness about the value of wetlands grows, all kinds of measures are being implemented to limit the negative consequences of tree harvesting to forested wetlands. Timber operations advertise their compliance with these  best management practices by enrolling in certification programs that can evaluate their activities and label their wood as sustainable. If you would like to learn more about these certification systems and find out where you can purchase sustainably harvested wood, here are links to two of the most prevalent certification programs: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council.

CONTACTS

The Izaak Walton League of America
707 Conservation Lane
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
(301)548-0150

Kami Watson
Coordinator, Save our Streams
email:kami@iwla.org

LINKS

The USDA s Natural Resources Conservation Service provides technical and financial assistance to landowners who are interested in protecting, restoring, and enhancing wetlands on their property. Learn more about their Wetlands Reserve Program at www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Interested in learning more about forestry best management practices (BMPs) in sensitive wetland habitats? Click on the following link to discover what foresters can do to harvest timber in a way that preserves the integrity of wetlands: www.epa.gov. Also, check out the EPA Watershed Academy's module on controlling impacts from common land use activities that often affect watersheds, water quality, and the condition of aquatic ecosystems. www.epa.gov/watertrain/.

The U.S. Forest Service has also released a detailed and beautifully illustrated guide to managing forested wetlands at: www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/ .

The Southern Forest Resource Assessment, led by the USDA Forest Service, recently published an evaluation of the forested areas of the South. They have devoted an entire chapter of their evaluation to forested wetlands, which you can view at: www.srs.fs.usda.gov.

To learn more about Native American mythology and traditions surrounding wild rice, and to read some personal insights into local wild rice harvesting in Minnesota, check out this article by Whole Earth Magazine. www.wholeearthmag.com.

Did you know that, out of all the commercially produced fruit we see on our grocer s shelves, blueberries and cranberries are two of the only three that are native to North America? (Concord grapes are the third). What s more, both of these all-American favorites are dependent on wetlands for cultivation. When you consider that in 2003, the total US production of blueberries was valued at $250.1 million, and that cranberry production brought in an additional $208 million, it is easy to see the economic value of wetlands to the agriculture sector.

Another wetland-dependent food source that is an important part of our nation s heritage is wild rice. Long before it became the gourmet delicacy it is today, the Native Americans recognized wild rice as an extremely important food source for nutritional, as well as cultural and spiritual, reasons. Additionally, many duck species, including mallard, pintail, blue-winged teal, and green-winged teal, depend upon the thick stands of naturally occurring wild rice varieties that can be found in healthy wetland habitats. In fact, the growing cycle of wild rice is synchronized so perfectly with waterfowl migration patterns that it is hard to imagine a plant more useful for restoring degraded wetland habitat. Wild rice stands also provide necessary habitat for a long list of other wetlands critters including moose, muskrat, grouse, snails and even certain species of moths! Growing wild rice as a field crop was first started in 1950 in the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota, where most of the U.S. wild rice production still occurs to this day. Currently these two states contain more than 28,000 acres of wild rice paddies, providing direct benefits not only to the rice farmers themselves, but also to fishermen, hunters and wildlife enthusiasts.

One of the most valuable  crops we get from wetlands, by far, is timber. Sweet-smelling Atlantic white cedar, sturdy green ash, and decay-resistant bald cypress all depend on our nation s wet bottomland forests. Though your shoes may not always get wet walking through a cedar forest, if you dig a few inches below the surface you would find that the soil is saturated with water. These permanently moist conditions result in acid soils that foster the growth of unique plant species with special adaptations. Wild rhododendrons, azaleas and sweetbay all thrive in soil conditions that are acidic. So, if you see these plants growing in abundance, you can be pretty sure that you are in a wet bottomland forest. Currently the U.S. has a total of 55 million acres of forested wetlands. Of this number, 33 million acres are found in the Southeastern bottomlands, containing a stock of standing timber worth a total of $8 billion! To bring this number back down to perspective, a recent study done in Tennessee estimated that wetland forests containing valuable hardwood species like red oak are worth no less than $620 per hectare.

By using sound harvesting practices, logging can coexist with wetlands. Yet many of these sensitive ecosystems are simply clearcut and drained. Several million acres of bottomland hardwood timber could once be found in Missouri and throughout the lower Mississippi River valley. Today only a fraction of this unique wetland habitat remains. But as scientists and foresters research new and more efficient management practices for harvesting bottomland timber, there is a growing consensus that wetlands contribute a lot more if they are left intact.

All in all, wetlands provide important services to a significant portion of our agricultural and timber production. This is a fact that is not lost on the Louisiana Office of Forestry (LOF), which is working with local landowners in the Tensas River Basin to return degraded soybean fields back to forested wetland habitat. Through their Waterbank Program, landowners are educated about the availability of cost-share programs for tree planting, timber stand improvement, wildlife habitat creation, water quality improvement, environmental protection and endangered species habitat protection. Thanks to the efforts of the LOF, The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, about 56,000 acres of soybean fields have been reforested so far. Additionally, over 27,000 acres are now farmed with wetland-friendly crops and practices. By cleaning up the waterways and re-introducing forestry and sustainable agriculture to the Tensas River Basin, both local landowners and wildlife will reap the benefits from this visionary plan. To find out more about Louisiana s Tensas River Basin Plan, click on the following link: http://nonpoint.deq.state.la.us/ws_tensas.html.

Wetland Sights and Sounds written by Suzanne Zanelli.

Photos courtesy of EPA.

Photos courtesy of www.Mass.gov.

Newsletter background music "Sunrise Over the River" provided by Listening Earth.

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Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America is dedicated to common sense conservation that protects America's hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage relying on solution-oriented conservation, education, and the promotion of outdoor recreation for the benefit of our citizens. The League has 40,000 members and supporters in 21 state divisions and more than 300 local chapters in 32 states.