...another volume of the "USGS encyclopedia of water"
is now available... National Water Summary on Wetland Resources

What is the National Water Summary?

National trends Theme articles State-by-State summaries Color maps and graphs Glossaries of water-related terms

Find out about your state's wetlands...

Alaska	Alaska has more area covered by wetlands--about 170 million acres--than the other 49 states combined.
Arkansas	Arkansas wetlands are a critical component of the series of wetlands along the Mississippi Flyway...but the state has lost more wetland acres than any other inland state.
Illinois	Wetlands can be owned and protected by the public as County Forest Preserve Districts.
North Dakota	About one-half of the nation's duck population originates in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota and other prairie states.
Ohio	Wetland area has declined by 90 percent during the last 200 years. Ohio designates all wetlands as State Resource Waters; as such, wetland water quality is protected from degradation that may interfere with designated uses.
Texas	Commercial fisheries benefit directly from coastal wetlands. Almost 5 percent of the state is covered by wetlands.
West Virginia	Wetlands contribute significantly to the state's economic development and ecological diversity. The Canaan Valley wetland complex is the largest in the central Appalachian Mountains.
Wisconsin	In 1991 the state became the first to adopt water-quality standards for wetlands.
State Summaries	To receive a summary for your State contact your USGS Water Resources District Chief.

Selected excerpts from the Wetland Resources volume...

Estimates indicate that today slightly more than 100 million acres of wetlands remain in the conterminous United States. Although the rate of wetland conversion has slowed in recent years, wetland losses continue to outdistance wetland gains.
-"History of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States"

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service classification system has become the national and international standard for identifying and classifying wetlands.
-"Wetland Definitions and Classifications in the United States"

The ability of wetlands to filter and transform nutrients and other constituents has resulted in the construction and use of artificial wetlands in the United States and other countries to treat wastewater and acid mine drainage.
-"Wetland Hydrology, Water Quality, and Associated Functions"

Each species of wetland-dependent bird has a unique and complex set of needs for wetland habitats that makes it difficult to generalize about how loss or degradation of wetlands affects bird populations.
-"Wetlands as Bird Habitat"

The most comprehensive State programs (for wetland protection) include those of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, and Minnesota.
-"Wetland Protection Legislation"

What happens to wetlands in one State can affect wetland activities, benefits, and uses in another State.
-"Wetland Research by Federal Agencies"

The Office of Management and Budget requires agencies to develop a national digital spatial information resource in collaboration with State and local governments and the private sector.
-"Wetland Mapping and Inventory"