There is something exciting about taking the road less traveled, choosing the hard path, venturing into the most demanding elements of nature. I have been exploring wetlands for almost 20 years and I love it! Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth. They have the ability to filter pollutants and mitigate floods and drought by absorbing and recharging water.

My interest in wetlands is in part because I don’t feel that they are well understood. We are doing a disservice to our society by not understanding wetlands and protecting them as they are the unique areas where land and water intersect.

They have so much variety depending on the underlying bedrock, soil substrate, topography, and vegetation: from forested wetlands, shrub swamps, riparian wetlands, vernal pools, bogs, fens, headwater seeps and so much more!

According to the Army Corps of Engineers (who regulate wetlands at the federal level as per Section 404 of the 1972 Clean Water Act). Wetlands are defined as “areas that are wet for a period of time adequate to support wetland vegetation.” What does that mean?

That means that an area only needs to hold water for a couple weeks a year to support these conditions and those conditions can be identified by physical inspection of three (3) parameters: hydrology, vegetation, and soil.

Hydrology - You need water to support a wetland, but the hydrologic regime* can vary considerably between wetland types and site conditions. Wetlands can be supported by running water, standing water, groundwater, surface water, and the period of saturation (or inundation) for each wetland can be different (seasonal, intermittent, or constant). *Variations in the state and characteristics of a water body which are regularly repeated in time and space and which pass through phases, e.g. seasonal.

Vegetation - Plants adapted for survival in saturated soil conditions are hydrophytes, unlike us they like getting their feet wet. This doesn’t mean there aren’t upland plants in wetlands, but >50% of the vegetation has to be hydrophytic to support a definitional wetland. Examples of hydrophytic vegetation that you might know of include: red maples, American elms, green ash, willows, dogwood, alder, jewelweed, sensitive fern, cattails, phragmites, reed canary grass, joe-pye weed, and many types of goldenrod.

Hydric soil – These soil characteristics develop over long periods in the absence of oxygen, water occupies the space between soil particles. To develop these conditions, you need to have saturation or inundation for a portion of the growing season. Common soil characteristics can include a dull blue-gray color (gleyed) and/or reddish-brown speckles or mottles in the upper 18 inches of the soil surface.

In Vermont, a wetland is "significant" based on an evaluation of the extent that it serves one or more of the 10 functions listed in the VT Wetland Rules. These functions include flood storage, water filtration, groundwater recharge, erosion control, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands are known to provide critical habitat to 35% of Vermont's threatened and endangered plants.

A great way to tour some exceptional wetlands, unique to Vermont, is to go to the States Wetlands Website https://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/wetlands and download the brochures for each Class I wetland. You can backpack and camp up at Beaver Meadows in Bristol, or you can go for a stroll on the boardwalks at Chickering Bog (which is actually a Fen) in Calais, you can visit a rare limy hemlock swamp in the Dorset Marsh, or you can paddle the Tinmouth Channel and the LaPlatte River Marsh. These special places are definitely free of crowds but diverse in other species! The more time you spend it them the better you will understand wetlands.

Part 2 – Wetlands are a Nature-Based Solution to Climate Change

The greatest threat to wetlands is our lack of understanding and misidentification of them. When we don’t know the resource exists, the impact is inevitable. Alterations to wetlands physically disturb their natural ability to store and filter water, adversely affecting flood resiliency, reduce their habitat value, and impacting public health. When you block one artery in a dynamic system, the system is fractured, broken. You isolate an area where more problems will abound; flooding, health, safety, habitat, and infrastructure.

Wetlands are estimated to cover approximately 4–6% of Vermont today, but due to development, we’ve lost more than 35% of our wetlands since colonization. Although the rate of loss under the current Vermont no net loss policy has decreased, the rate of loss is still significant*. In 2019, the Program issued 154 permits and 41 projects were completed in the calendar year 2019.

*Many of the wetlands that exist in VT are not mapped, they have yet to be identified, and are therefore unregulated so they are impacted without any recourse. The policy allows for impact to permitted wetlands.

We need to take a hard look at whether the structure of the current wetland policy is ready for climate change, and the ecological potential that is lost with each impact* (*fracturing the wetland functions).

Conserving intact wetlands, floodplains, rivers, and connected forest systems improves climate resilience.

Wetlands provide the physical space to absorb floodwaters, they act as sponges and filters for severe storms. A UVM study showed that the Otter Creek wetlands and floodplains saved the town of Middlebury $1.8 million following Tropical Storm Irene. By slowing floodwaters, the wetlands reduced the damage to Middlebury by up to 78%. Another UVM study showed that restoring wetlands in the Vermont portion of Lake Champlain Basin could achieve 15% of the pollution reduction goals required for the lake by the EPA. Investing in wetlands and floodplains to protect communities is a way to build resilience as climate change brings more severe weather.

For questions about wetlands on your property reach out to the VT Wetlands Program or the list of consultants found on the VT Wetlands Program website.

Karina works as a Restoration Ecologist for Vermont Natural Resources Council.

BERNIE AND OUR AMPHIBIAN and AQUATIC FRIENDS ENDORSE THIS MESSAGE.