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Restoring a Wetland in Your Community

Wetlands contribute many important services to our communities. They protect us from storm surges; filter and purify our drinking water; sustain our commercial fisheries; and inspire the creativity of artists and writers with their beauty. And yet, wetlands have historically been one of the most undervalued ecosystems on the planet. Ditched, dyked, drained and filled to make way for development, America’s wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming pace over the past 200 years.

Fortunately however, old prejudices against these unique ecosystems are giving way to widespread appreciation. Today, communities, organizations, businesses and individuals all over the nation are getting engaged in wetland restoration activities.

The goal of wetland restoration is to return wetland ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed to their natural state. Restoration activities have been instrumental in stemming the loss of wetland habitat across the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a total of 768,700 acres of wetlands were gained as a result of restoration activities between 1982 and 1992. And because a substantial amount of our remaining wetland acreage is located on private property, the efforts of individual landowners to restore wetland habitat play a key role in nursing our watersheds back to health.

The residents of Hidden Springs, Idaho, would certainly agree that wetlands contribute enormously to the health of their community. This housing development is only about 10 miles north of bustling downtown Boise, but it feels about as far removed from urban life as you can get. Developer Frank Martin has been a key player in the process of designing Hidden Springs to be an oasis for both people and wildlife. A quarter of one percent of every lot sale goes straight into an environmental account, which supports projects like community clean-ups and environmental education activities, and has now grown large enough to fund the hiring of an open-space coordinator.

This “transfer fee” is also helping to restore the health of a 10-plus acre natural wetland located within the community. The Wetland Restoration Project is led by Claudia Druss, Open Space Project Manager at Hidden Springs, and Michael Wiegand of Habiscapes. Under their direction, resident volunteers help remove noxious weeds and plant native vegetation. A user-friendly trail system also has been installed around the perimeter of the area. When asked why her community cares so much about preserving places like this, Hidden Springs resident Susie Headlee gives a typical response. “This is a development and people move out here to live close to nature,” she says. “We’re going back to restore it.”

Like Susie Headlee, homeowners throughout the nation enjoy the scenic views and the increased privacy that come when living near natural areas. A home located next to a healthy wetland often increases property values. Cattail marshes and ephemeral pools provide unparalleled opportunities for bird-watching and nature walks. An occasional visit by a curious deer or a soaring red-tailed hawk can be an added bonus for a family looking for a touch of nature in their backyard. And as we discover more ways in which wetlands contribute to both our economic and social health, citizens all over the country are embracing the need to protect and restore wetlands.

So what are some of the things you can do to restore a neighboring wetland area and ensure that it contributes positively to your community?

The federal government has taken steps to encourage citizen-based wetland restoration activities by offering financial assistance to private landowners who wish to restore wetland habitat on their properties. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can pay citizens up to half the costs to restore or establish protective buffers along streams, lakes and wetlands, as well as annual land rental payments for 10 or 15 years. If you would like to find out more about this and other government-sponsored conservation programs, visit the USDA Conservation Program’s website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/PROGRAMS. You can also contact your county conservation district or a local USDA Service Center (see right-hand column for contact information). They will guide you through the enrollment procedure and provide you with the technical planning and design assistance needed to do the work.

Even if you don’t have any wetlands on your property, you can still participate in restoring the health of wetland habitat in your community. For example, one of the most important things that you can do to prevent damage to local wetlands is to reduce the amount of pesticides and fertilizers that you use in your homes and backyards. These poisons flow into nearby waterways and harm not only plants and wildlife, but also the people who live downstream.

One of the most serious problems affecting the quality of our wetlands is the spread of non-native, invasive species like Purple Loosestrife, Japanese Knotweed and Multiflora Rose. These aggressive species can rapidly take over a large area, driving down the natural diversity of native plants and reducing the quality and quantity of food available to wildlife. So make sure you pay attention to what kinds of plants you choose when you are designing your landscape. Planting only vegetation that is native to the area in which you live can prevent invasive species from spreading to wetlands and other natural areas in your community.

Another way to help wetlands in your neighborhood is to join a local Izaak Walton League chapter or watershed group. Group activities like trash clean-up days, tree plantings, water quality monitoring, and annual festivals help to restore the vitality of local waterways, while raising awareness among community members about important watershed issues. You can find information about a chapter located near you at www.iwla.org/index.php?id=7.

Finally, make sure to check out the League’s Protect Our Wetlands Program website at www.iwla.org/index.php?id=18 for a list of resources that could help you design your own restoration or conservation plan for a wetland in your community.

Creature Feature:
The return of the American Bittern

Painted in stripes of buff and soft brown, an American Bittern blends into the reeds and cattails as seamlessly as a fallen tree branch. The bittern’s cryptic plumage and secretive habits make it very likely that you could walk within a couple feet of one without even noticing its presence. In fact, the only time you might be aware of this elusive shorebird is in the hours between dusk and midnight, when its deep booming calls join the chorus of bullfrogs that echo along lakeshores and marsh edges.

Though shorter and stockier than some of its more elegant cousins, the American Bittern is actually a type of heron. And like other herons, bitterns rely on stealth and lightening-fast reflexes to catch their prey. A quick stab with its dagger-like beak makes short work of any hapless crustacean, frog, fish, or water snake that happens to mistake a bittern’s favorite hunting spot for a safe haven!

Nicknamed the “thunder-pumper” or “bog-bull” for its resonating call, the American Bittern can be heard (and sometimes seen) in freshwater wetlands throughout the United States. During the summer, the birds breed in the tall emergent vegetation of marshes and lakeshores across the mid-United States, and all the way up into northern Canada. Its wintering range extends along the south Atlantic Coast, across the Gulf Coast and west to southern California. The steady loss and degradation of freshwater wetlands all over the nation has had devastating effects on American Bittern populations, resulting in this species being listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Non-Game Species of Management Concern in 1982 and 1987. Fortunately however, nation-wide efforts to restore wetlands and plant vegetation along stream banks are proving to be successful in bringing these shy marsh birds back from the brink.

Click here to listen to the call of an American Bittern!

VOLUME TWO
Issue No. 3