UNITED STATES — February 2 is internationally recognized as World Wetlands Day and it gives reason for waterfowl to flap their wings and celebrate.
Established in 1997, the day brings awareness to the importance of wetlands, their fragility and the need for continued conservation and restoration. According to World Wetlands website, nearly 90% of the world’s wetlands have been degraded since the 1700s, and are disappearing three times faster than forests.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) describes what constitutes a wetland: A wetland must hold water during at least a portion of the year, soil conditions must be completely saturated with water and aquatic plants that require less oxygen, called hydrophytes, must be present. A broad definition of wetlands includes both freshwater and marine and coastal ecosystems, such as all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs and all human-made sites such as fishponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and saltpans.
These marshy lands preserve adjacent habitats by preventing flooding and providing protection for lake shores by buffering the erosive action of high, strong, choppy waters. Wetlands also improve water quality by capturing and removing excess nutrients, pollutants and heavy metals.
In Wyoming and Idaho, wetlands are critical ecosystems that contribute to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability, as well as provide vital habitat for waterfowl, migratory birds, fish and wildlife. Many resident and migrating species depend on these unique landscapes for breeding grounds, nesting sites and food.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, wetlands cover about 1.25 million acres (2 percent) of Wyoming and are the most diverse ecosystems in the State’s semiarid environment. The Laramie Plain Lakes wetland complex is home to the Wyoming toad, an endangered species.
Jackson’s Karns Meadow, a 40-acre open wetland area, is a stop-over point for song birds and mule deer. The region’s rivers, streams and associated wetlands are fed annually by melting snowpack, and create a life-sustaining habitats to cutthroat trout, according to the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance.
In Idaho, wetlands account for less than one percent of the State’s area, but its many small and isolated wetlands are essential to the functioning of diverse ecosystems in deserts, plains and mountains. More than 75% of Idaho’s wildlife depend on wetlands during some part of their life cycle, according to Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
According to World Wetlands Day website, “Wetlands provide valuable habitat to wildlife in what can be an otherwise dry and harsh environment. Many birds, mammals, amphibians and other animals require wetlands or riparian areas to survive, including as much as 70% of Wyoming’s bird species. Other wildlife use wetlands seasonally or during parts of their life cycle.”
The WGFD has put their efforts towards wetland research and preservation.
WGFD, in collaboration with members of the Wyoming Bird Habitat Conservation Partnership, has developed the Wyoming Wetlands Conservation Strategy and regional wetland conservation plans. These are statewide and priority complex specific planning efforts that establish wetland conservation priorities, identify regional factors affecting wetland condition and provide strategies for conserving wetland resources. Wetland condition assessments are also underway for Wyoming’s priority wetland complexes.
