Our natural areas are in urgent need of support. Learn how we can make an impact through ecological restoration in our communities.

The Wetlands mapper is designed to deliver easy-to-use, map like views of America's Wetland resources. It integrates digital map data along with other resource information to produce current information on the status, extent, characteristics and functions of wetlands, riparian, and deepwater habitats. The Wetland Mapper fulfills the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's strategic plan for the development, revision and dissemination of wetlands data and information to resource managers and the public.

In this webinar hosted by Thomas R. Biebighauser, you will learn about the techniques used in wetland restoration, as well as some examples of their application. This webinar was produced as part of the Wetlands Institute Speaker Series.

Wetlands are among the richest and most diverse places on earth. Thousands of fish, mammals and birds call the wetlands home. If you can believe it, wetlands, thick with plants and soggy soils, act as a sponge, soaking up pollutants to help keep our water clean. They also help protect people from floods and storms.

Located in Maryland, USA, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is part of the largest area of tidal marsh within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and is of regional ecological significance for its wetlands and for the wildlife populations it supports. However, over 5,000 acres of tidal marsh have converted to open water on the refuge since 1938... In December 2016, 26,000 cubic yards of sediment was pumped in a thin-layer application over approximately 40 acres of tidal marsh on the refuge.

Recently the possibilities for creating wetlands in and around towns and cities have been given more attention, following the disappearance in recent decades of large stretches of wet nature, and thus also natural buffers, as a result of urban expansions and land drainage. Wetlands are created to buffer some of the run-off from precipitation and slow the rate at which it drains away. This is a new approach compared with rapid drainage systems using ditches and pipes.

Wetlands are transitional lands between lands and other bodies of water. There are four main types of wetlands: Marsh, Swamp, Fen, and Bog.

Environmental Justice and Wetland Restoration at the Lower 9th: "What would happen if another hurricane as devastating as Katrina hits New Orleans again? How it will most likely affect once again the most impoverished, underprivileged and marginalized communities? Who live[s] in these communities?"

This video describes the restoration of Long Creek, a small watershed of Casco Bay, in southern Maine, that was impaired because of runoff from impervious surfaces. The watershed is being restored using a collective stormwater permitting approach which was applied to raise revenue for stormwater treatment systems (BMPs). This innovative approach stemmed from results of watershed assessments, and determination by EPA under the residual designation authority of the Clean Water Act.

This educator's guide "includes background information, suggested activities, glossary, references, and reading list. Activities can be demonstrated by the teacher or performed by students. Emphasis is on Gulf Coast wetlands."