May is American Wetlands Month

American Wetlands Month was established in 1991 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with partners in federal, state, tribal, local, and non-profit private sectors to educate Americans about the value of wetlands as a natural resource. This annual celebration aims to inspire people to protect, preserve, and expand wetlands throughout the year.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)* was signed into law in 1989 and is the main piece of U.S. legislation for wetland conservation. This legislation provides grants to public and private partnerships in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to protect, restore, enhance, and maintain wetland habitats for migratory birds and other wildlife, as well as protect the animals dependent on this ecosystem. The North American Waterfowl Management Plan outlines this criteria. Read President Bush's "Remarks on Signing the North American Wetlands Conservation Act" in the Public Papers of the Presidents: George H.W. Bush (1989, Book II) (See p. 1699).

Wetlands provide many benefits for fish, wildlife, and society. Wetlands are home to thousands of species of plants and animals, and provide flood protection, shoreline erosion control, and recreation. Read EPA’s “May is American Wetlands Month” to find out more about wetlands and why they are so important. Check out the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's article “Swamped: In a good way!” to learn how our health and well-being are deeply dependent on the existence of healthy and functioning wetlands. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts research to provide government and other organizations with important information to make land use and conservation decisions. Take a look at their website to see how researchers continue to study and share new findings on other ways wetlands help with climate change impacts.

The Classification Systems
Five systems form the classification hierarchy: Marine, Estuarine, Riverine, Lacustrine, and Palustrine.

The Federal government uses the Cowardin Classification System to identify and classify different types of wetlands. It uses a biological definition of wetlands, which focuses on habitat-related characteristics of a wetland, such as the vegetation community and the length of time water is present.
Habitats that are defined by the Cowardin system must meet one or more of these three attributes:

1. Land that supports plant species, known as hydrophytes, that rely on wet soils at least periodically.
2. Land that contains a substrate that is predominantly undrained hydric soil.
3. Land that contains a substrate that is non-soil and is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season of each year.

Read more about the Cowardin Classification System on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s “An Introduction to Wetland Classification” story map.