Volume 1, Issue 7

What you can do!

What better opportunity to inspire your inner poet, writer, artist, or musician than to explore the hidden wonders of a cattail pond, listen to the hum of the cicadas along a streambank, or witness the beauty of a snowy egret fishing in a marsh? And nothing brings as much joy as watching your child delight in her first wiggly tadpole or sun-flecked trout, or the first time a dragonfly alights on his finger. So this May, why not celebrate American Wetlands Month by planning a special trip by yourself, with a loved one, or with your entire family to a nearby marsh or stream? To locate a National Park near you, check out the National Park Services website at www.nps.gov/parks.html.

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

Environmental Concern, Inc. is celebrating American Wetlands Month by offering a unique opportunity for young artists to illustrate a children s book about wetlands. For more information, here is the website for EC s Write-On Wetlands Challenge 2005:www.wetland.org/
edu_writeon.htm

Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary is a stretch of more than 1,400 acres of tidal marshes, coastal forests, and wet meadows along the Patuxent River in Maryland. This remarkable sanctuary is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year by providing lots of educational and recreational activities for the entire family. Check out the Jug Bay Sanctuary s events calendar and other educational opportunities at www.jugbay.org/index.html.

America s Wetland Birding Trail is a newly opened series of corridors that link Louisiana s State Parks, State Historic Sites, State Preservation Areas, National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlife Management Areas, and other coastal spots from the Texas border all the way to Mississippi. www.fermatiainc.com

The Oshkosh Public Museum in Wisconsin has an exciting new exhibit on display entitled  Wetlands and Waterways. Features include some artifacts from the Meskwaki Grand Village on Lake Butte des Morts, where the French fought the Meskwaki for control of the fur trade in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. For the kids, there are life-like dioramas of wetlands creatures, and an interactive tracking activity, where adults and children can follow the footprints of wetlands animals and learn about their importance in both the natural world and human societies. www.publicmuseum.oshkosh.net

Built on the site of a former sewage treatment facility, Seattle s Meadowbrook Pond is not only an oasis of natural beauty and art; it also helps to filter the city s water supply. This 7-acre ecosystem functions as a storm water detention pond for Thornton Creek, a horticulture classroom for Nathan Hale students, and a spawning ground for salmon. To find out more about this unique project, created by a diverse team of scientists, artists, community leaders, and government officials, visit www.ci.seattle.wa.us/util/. To see a recent article about Meadowbrook Pond in Seattle Press Online, click on this link: www.seattlepressonline.com/article-110.html.

Audubon has produced a beautifully designed and informative virtual tour of Florida s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, complete with photos of all the different habitats found here, and their associated plants and animals. Click on this link to visit this wondrous wetland ecosystem: www.audubon.org/. And thanks to the Fish and Wildlife Service, you can also experience the magnificence of Stillwater Refuge in Nevada. Click on this link www.fws.gov/stillwater/EE.html for a virtual tour!

Out of the mouths of babes come some of the most honest and uplifting sentiments. These poems come from a class of 6th graders in Davis, California, who were inspired by a field trip to nearby Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area. www.djusd.k12.ca.us/
BirchLane/projects/
wetlands/wtldsptry.htm Also, check out the winners from this year s international River of Words poetry and art contest. www.riverofwords.org

Claude Monet is famous for his paintings depicting the misty softness of the water lily-covered ponds near his cottage in rural France. Click here to see his well-known  Water Lilies series: www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/
auth/monet/waterlilies/ But there also are many other artists who have been inspired by the beauty of wetland landscapes. Here are some links to wetland-inspired art collections: www.davidberryart.com/
gallery/wildlife.html
www.aarf.com/fesf9602.htm
www.martystanley.com/left_nav/
delta/001.htm

Don t forget to celebrate American Wetlands Month in May. For a nationwide calendar of event, visit www.iwla.org/sos/awm/events.

In a green place lanced through
With amber and gold and blue 
A place of water and weeds,
And roses pinker than dawn
And ranks of lush young reeds
And grasses straightly withdrawn
From graven ripples of sands.
The still blue heron stands.
  The Blue Heron by Theodore Goodridge Roberts

Hope and the future for me are not in lawns and cultivated fields,
not in towns and cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps.
  Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Think back to when you were a child, and a trip out to nature was a special event to spend time with your family. Do you have a particular place in mind? Maybe there was a secret hideout in your backyard where you and your siblings allowed your imaginations to run wild. Or maybe you are thinking of a special lake where you landed your first big fish with dad. These emotional and spiritual attachments to our nation s wildlands are some of the most important values of all, and yet the most difficult of which to attach a dollar amount.

Because of their vibrant colors, rich diversity, and tranquil beauty, wetlands are ecosystems that have inspired the paintings, poetry and music of so many artists. From Monet s Water Lilies and Henry David Thoreau s Walden to Lynyrd Skynyrd s  Swamp Music, wetlands have sparked the imagination of people who yearn to translate the soul-soothing nature of marshes, swamps and bayous into artwork.

Though it s difficult to quantify exactly how much these aesthetic qualities of wetlands are worth, economists try to include some of these intangible values when they are making decisions about how to balance conservation and development. The wildness and beauty of wetlands is difficult to put a price tag on, but there are a few ways that we can begin to include these important values when we weigh the costs and benefits of development projects.

One of the ways that we can do this is by looking at property values. Research has shown time and time again that homes near protected shorelines and certain types of inland wetland areas tend to be consistently easier to market, they sell more quickly (and at higher rates), pay more in taxes and appreciate at a greater rate than homes that are further away. One national study showed that houses located near streamside forests increase in value by an average of $10,427 per acre. Likewise, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation found that a streamside wetland in Philadelphia called Pennypack Park increased the total value of adjacent real estate by more than $3.3 million! Not only are people become more and more aware of the economic value of wetland functions, they have come to view these serene, complex ecosystems as beautiful additions to their landscapes.

Wetlands contribute in many ways to social health and well-being. These social values include: education, scientific research, recreation and tourism, cultural and spiritual values, landscape and aesthetic values. As the perfect  outdoor laboratory, a wetland can teach students of all ages about natural processes and the complex interactions that sustain life.

The Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Maryland, for example, provides wetlands learning experiences for over 2,500 school children and many thousands of tourists per year through more than 203 programs geared towards introducing the public to the wonders of wetlands. Additionally, more than 160 volunteers are involved in these wetland education programs, as well as various research and management activities. And whether you are an archaeologist studying prehistoric dinosaurs or a historian researching ancient civilizations, wetlands have become the final resting place for many valuable artifacts that help us learn more about the past.

Back in Issue #2, we saw that wetlands provide countless opportunities for recreational activities like fishing, hunting, birdwatching and canoe trips. As a tourist destination, people are increasingly choosing to visit wetlands for the rich biodiversity and natural beauty found in marshes, swamps and estuaries. Also, visiting historic coastal populations like those found along the bayous of Louisiana, is an opportunity to experience a different pace of life, sample exotic cuisine and become aware of an important part of our cultural heritage.

All over the world, there are a wide range of cultural and spiritual values associated with wetlands. For example, the wetlands and waterways around Wisconsin s Lake Winnebago were profoundly important to the Native American civilizations in the area. As we discovered in Sights and Sounds Volume #4, wetland-produced wild rice was a significant part of the diet of many Midwestern tribes, plus it fed the ducks that these populations relied on for protein. This resulted in the strong presence of wetlands in the myths and spiritual beliefs of Native Americans in these areas.

Halfway around the world, the Maori of New Zealand rely on coastal wetlands to provide them with wildfowl, eels and other freshwater fish to eat, and to produce the starchy taro root that makes up a significant part of their diet. The Maori also value wetlands for their production of harakeke (flax) for weaving, in addition to other materials for medicinal, food, building, and craft use.

Even those who have never visited a wetland often find value in simply knowing that these special places exist. This type of  existence value is demonstrated by the large numbers of people who show their appreciation and support for wetlands conservation through political support and donations to conservation organizations. Citizens all over the country are voting for tax initiatives that devote more public funds to public lands conservation. According to a study by the Trust for Public Land, voters in scores of communities have approved more than 77 percent of the conservation finance ballot measures put to them since 1998, 935 out of 1,215 to be exact. Altogether these measures have generated more than $25 billion for acquiring outdoor recreation lands, protecting rivers and streams, preserving agricultural lands, funding historic preservation, easing sprawl and many other uses.

Another way that individuals are showing their support for conservation efforts is through their purchases of Maryland s special  Treasure the Chesapeake license plate. This program funds efforts to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, generating an impressive $600,000 a year since 1994. In addition to buying license plates, voters in Maryland are opting to check off a box on their state tax forms and make a donation of their choice to the Chesapeake Bay Fund. In 2000, this resulted in a total contribution amount of $1.2 million, making  Line 37 the largest nonpolitical check-off in the country! The overwhelming success of these and other public funding mechanisms demonstrates that people are more than willing to put their dollars towards conserving these important ecosystems.