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Read Spring 2006 issues here!  
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How Do I Know it’s a Wetland?

Welcome to the first issue of our second series of Wetland Sights and Sounds! During the month of April, you will receive one newsletter each week leading up to our celebration of American Wetlands Month in May. Each issue will feature a backyard conservation project that can help protect and restore valuable wetlands in your community. Also included are links to resources that can help you learn more about the value of wetland habitat, and plan your own backyard conservation projects.

The Izaak Walton League is national coordinator for American Wetlands Month. Leading our effort are Leah Miller, Director of Watershed Programs; Kami Watson, Coordinator of the Save Our Streams program; and Suzanne Zanelli, Coordinator of the Protect Our Wetlands program. Information on how to contact them can be found in the right hand menu of this and future newsletters.

Like last year, the theme for American Wetlands Month 2006 is “It Pays to Save Wetlands.” Our 2005 series of Wetland Sights and Sounds focused on the economic values of wetlands including outdoor recreation, fisheries, timber and food production, water purification, flood reduction and erosion control, and the less tangible values of spiritual renewal and education. You can access archived copies of last year’s Wetlands Sights and Sounds series at www.iwla.org/pow.

So now that you know why wetlands are valuable to the health of our economy, our society and our environment, what can you do to help protect them?

One way to take action for wetlands is to identify a wetland in your yard or community that is in need of protection or restoration. But what exactly is a wetland? Read on to discover how you can find out whether or not that wet spot in your backyard is really a wetland!

Wetland Identification 101

Now the first thing that might come to mind when you think of a wetland is…you guessed it, “wetness!” Water flow is the most important feature of a wetland because it determines what kinds of soils and plants you will find. Its presence, however, may not always be visible. Sometimes a wetland is only ‘wet’ during certain parts of the year. For example, many forested wetlands go through cycles where they can appear dry much of the time, only filling with water during heavy rains. If you actually tested the soil moisture though, you would see that the ground remains saturated all year round.

But the flow of water, what scientists call hydrology, is only one of the characteristics you need in order to determine whether or not a piece of land is really a wetland. To make sure you really have a wetland, you need to also look at the soil and the vegetation.

Wetland Soils

Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves, get your shovel, and dig up some dirt! Because the soil found in wetlands stays moist throughout the year, it contains very little oxygen. This causes wetland soil to look and feel very different than other types of soils. One type of wetland soil, called peat, is mostly made up of dead and decaying plant matter. If you pick up a clump of peat, it will feel very soft and light, and will contain recognizable bits of plant material. The decomposition of this organic material happens so slowly because it is very acidic and because the oxygen levels are so low. But as the organic material further decomposes, peat soils may gradually turn into muck soils, which are heavier, darker and feel greasy. Wetland soils may also be inorganic, which means they are mostly made up of clay, silt, sand and stones. They are often grayish, since groundwater carries away naturally occurring iron and manganese particles that give soil a deep black or reddish color. Sometimes they have reddish-orange streaks when the iron particles are exposed to oxygen.

Wetland Plants

Now that you’ve discovered what lies under the ground, take a closer look at what’s growing on top. Since plants depend on the water and soil that surrounds their root systems, they can tell us a lot about the nature of the land. For plants to grow in wetlands, they must be able to deal with lots of water. Some of these plants are called hydrophytes, which means “water-loving,” and are great indicators that a piece of land may be a wetland. For example, if you have skunk cabbage or cranberries on your property, you can be pretty sure you have a wetland on your hands. Other types of plants have special adaptations that allow them to survive in water-logged soils. For example, trees that grow in wetlands have shallow roots, since oxygen can only be found close to the soil’s surface. Wetland trees may also grow “buttresses,” or thick fluted bases, to help keep them stable in the soft soil. Some of the species you should keep an eye out for are cattails, bulrushes, cordgrass, sphagnum moss, bald cypress, willows, mangroves, sedges, rushes, arrowheads, and water plantains. These are almost always found in wetland habitats.

But what about wetland critters? Generally, animals are not good wetland indicators since they can roam freely between different habitats. However there are a few species that, if found, can almost certainly prove that a wetland is present. If you find a tadpole in a natural pool that has grown a pair of legs, the water has been standing for at least a month, which means that it is a wetland. Beavers, otters, red-winged blackbirds, marsh hawks and salamanders are some other species that make their homes in wetland habitat.

Creature Feature:
Meet nature’s engineer, the Beaver!

Second only to humankind in their ability to alter the landscape, beavers were known by Native Americans as the “sacred center” of the land for their ability to create habitat for other wetland wildlife such as muskrats, ducks and turtles. At one time, beavers were considered nuisances because their industrious, dam-building activity sometimes resulted in the flooding of valuable farmland and timber. However, we now know that by setting aside land next to streams and rivers as buffer zones, we can prevent flood damage to agricultural land. Far from damaging the landscape, beaver dams actually create valuable wetland habitat, which increases local plant and animal diversity. The ponds that form upstream of beaver dams can also reduce nutrient pollution in agricultural watersheds. These beaver ponds have been known to retain up to 1,000 times more nitrogen than streams without beaver dams. Additionally, constant nibbling by the beavers stimulates willow, cottonwood, and aspen trees to regrow bushier than ever the following spring, which increases food and nesting sites for rabbits, deer, and birds.

So, the next time you catch the sight of a furry brown lump disappearing beneath the surface of the water, hear the loud slap! slap! of a beaver tail, or come across some tooth marks on a tree stump; take a moment to admire the handiwork of this tireless little wetland manager. With a little extra help from the industrious beaver, our work will be that much easier.

Click here to listen to the slap of a beaver tail!

VOLUME TWO
Issue No. 1