What Are Wetlands?

Removal of Wetlands

What are wetlands?

A wetland is an area of land consisting of soil that is saturated with moisture, such as a swamp, marsh, or bog. Wetlands don’t seem like they would be very important to the environment but they are. Wetlands help in the natural system of water storage, flood conveyance, groundwater recharge and discharge, shoreline erosion control, and water quality improvement.

South Dakota Wetlands

In South Dakota the main reason to maintain our wetlands is to help prevent the rivers, such as the Missouri River, from flooding. Wetlands help to lessen the impacts of flooding by absorbing water and slowing down the speed of the flowing water. They are also natural pathways for the water when the rivers do flood, but if the wetlands are removed then the flood water is able to travel elsewhere. Without wetlands the flood water is able to cause damage in nearby towns, farmlands, and roads, and may even threaten lives of humans and animals. South Dakota once contained approximately 2.7 million acres of wetlands, but by 1980 at least 700,000 acres of wetland (35%) had been converted to other uses for agricultural, rural, and urban needs.

What can we do to help?

Dispose of household products carefully-do not pour paints, preservatives, brush cleaners, and solvents down a drain. Sewers and septic tanks do not treat these material, they can then enter wetlands untreated.

Care for your lawn cautiously-lawns with trees and shrubs prevent erosion, use proper fertilizer, and water your yard only when it’s dry.

Control soil erosion-slow down run-offs by reducing the amount of hard surfaces around

your homes to let rain water soak into the ground instead of being carried off into wetlands.

Saving the world’s wetlands is just one step to saving the world’s environment, help by

getting educated in ways you can help save the environment.