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Wetlands are important to our environment like air is important to us. Wetlands are places where animals like the green heron, Hines emerald dragonfly and the red-backed salamander live. Wetlands are important because they're places where vegetation like the dwarf lake iris also known as the bog rosemary live and grow. Wetlands help the ecosystem very much. The Hines emerald dragonfly is very rarely seen anywhere but in Door County. We have seen many Hines emerald dragonflies. There are also two different types of wetlands the salt-water wetlands and the fresh water wetlands. We only have fresh water wetlands in Door County.

Wetlands are important because they help prevent flooding. The plants in wetlands are able to slow down the flow of the water radically. Wetlands clean the water by filtering out sedimentation, vegetative matter, decomposing, and converting chemicals into usable forms. Wetlands ability to recycle nutrients make them important to the functioning of the earth. Some artificial wetlands were made just for the purpose of water purification. People may say that if we keep wetlands there might not be enough room for people to live but without
wetlands we wouldn't have as much clean water and we would have a lot more floods.

Wetlands effect the ecosystem greatly. Wetlands have been compared to the kidneys because they help control water flow and cleanse the system. Wetlands hold water a lot like a sponge. Wetlands take the water during a storm and release water when water levels are low. Wetlands release vegetative matter into rivers, which help feed fish. With more vegetation for the fish to eat, the fish population will start to grow.

The green heron is an animal that would decrease if we didn't have wetlands. Green herons need shallow water to wade in to catch fish. If there were no wetlands to catch fish in, green herons would have to wade at beaches. Because beaches can become so crowded it might be hard for the herons to wade in the water. Wetlands have the type of food that the green heron eat, frogs, fish, tadpoles, crayfish, water bugs, crickets, and snakes. Wetlands provide a place for green herons to live and eat.

Door County wetlands are one of the only places you can find the Hines emerald dragonfly. Hines emerald dragonflies are on the endangered species list. You may think dragonflies aren't worth saving, after all they're only bugs. Dragonflies play an impor1ant role in natures courses. They are a huge food source for numerous animals. The Hines emerald dragonfly also helps populate animals smaller than it because the Hines emerald dragonfly will eat almost anything smaller than it. The Hines emerald dragonflies' favorite prey is mosquitoes which makes us enjoy wetlands more because there are fewer mosquitoes. Hines emerald dragonfly lives in marshes over dolomite bedrock (limestone). When The Hines eggs are laid, they lay them in places like wetlands. During the nymph stage is when they eat the most. One reason that the Hines dragonfly isn't seen as an adult very much is because they live for only 4 to 5 weeks as an adult. The reason Hines emerald dragonflies are on the endangeredlist is because loss of habitat and some of the water it lives in is contaminated

The bog rosemary is on the threatened list. It is commonly known as the dwarf lake iris. We have dwarf lake iris in Door County. Dwarf lake iris is rarer because of shoreland development. The flower only blooms by the Great Lakes. The dwarf lake iris is rare also because it needs just the right combination of light, humidity, soil, moisture, and temperature to live. The dwarf lake iris lives near wetlands. If we kill wetlands, this beautiful flower could be lost forever.

The wetlands in Door County are fresh water wetlands. Fresh water wetlands can be seasonal, which means that they can leave during part of the year and then come back. Other fresh water wetlands are always under water. Fresh water wetlands are not uncommon for the world today. One special thing about having fresh water wetlands in Door County is that we get to see some animals and vegetation that people near salt-water wetlands don't get to see. On the other hand, people who live near salt-water wetlands get to see some animals and vegetation that we don't get to see.

Many people say that wetlands aren't important. But wetlands really do help us in ways that we don't know. Wetlands help our ecosystem incredibly They provide food and places to live for animals like the green heron, and the Hines emerald dragonfly. Wetlands help prevent flooding. Wetlands also provide places for vegetation to live such as the dwarf lake iris, also known as the bog rosemary. Some people make artificial wetlands to help purify water. Wetlands are very important to us so next time you think about destroying a wetland,
THINK AGAIN!

 

Door County Environmental Council
P O Box 114, Fish Creek WI 54212
Phone: 920-743-6003 | FAX: 920-743-6727
Info@dcec-wi.org