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May is American Wetlands Month!
| American Wetlands Month was created more than twenty years ago to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the nation's ecological, economic, and social health.
This May, and always, the staff at WWA is celebrating the reasons we love our wetlands. We hope you'll be doing the same!
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Photo: Thomas Meyer |
No matter who you are or where you live, wetlands affect your life. Wisconsin Wetlands Association invites you to celebrate the wetlands in YOUR life--whether it’s the ephemeral pond in your backyard, your favorite spot to bird with your family, or the coniferous bog you know like the back of your hand.
Ways to celebrate American Wetlands Month:
- LEARN about wetlands
- EXPLORE a wetland near you
- PROTECT & RESTORE wetlands
- JOIN Wisconsin Wetlands Association
- LOVE your wetlands: Follow us on facebook and twitter for special daily posts of reasons to love your wetlands!
Learn about wetlands.
American Wetlands Month is a great opportunity to learn what wetlands are and why they matter.
- What is a wetland? Read descriptions and see photos of the twelve wetland types found in Wisconsin. (Click here for a printer-friendly PDF guide to the wetlands of Wisconsin - 9.4MB.)
 Why do wetlands matter? Wetlands provide many important natural benefits that improve our human communities and add to our quality of life:
- Wetlands protect our communities from flooding
- Wetlands clean and filter water for drinking, swimming, boating and fishing
- Wetlands help recharge our groundwater
- Wetlands protect our shorelines
- Wetlands provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife
- Wetlands provide places for education and recreation (outdoor recreation is a leading driver of Wisconsin’s vital tourism economy)
Learn more about the natural benefits of wetlands by reading about "Workhorse Wetlands" (PDF, 1MB), and by reading about how wetlands benefit your community (PDF, 2MB).
 Where can I find a wetland? Wisconsin Wetlands Association designated 100 Wetland Gems™ in 2009, shining a light on valuable habitat and pinpointing 100 jewels we should naturally treasure. Find a Wetland Gem™ near you! We have also produced a full-color, spiral-bound guide to Wisconsin’s Wetland Gems™ that makes a great companion to your Wisconsin gazeteer for planning vacations and getaways.
Explore a wetland near you.
 American Wetlands Month is a great opportunity to "get your feet wet" in a wetland near you!
Take action to protect and restore wetlands.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association has developed several tools to help the people of Wisconsin be better wetland advocates and wetland stewards.
- Learn about the wetlands on your property and how to care for them. 75% of Wisconsin's wetlands are in private ownership. WWA has created a suite of webpages, My Healthy Wetlands, to provide information, tools, and resources to help landowners understand and manage their wetlands. This is our first step in developing a new Private Wetland Landowner Outreach Program.
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- Advocate for wetlands. Our Protecting Wetlands web pages are designed to help the people of Wisconsin turn their concern for wetlands into informed and effective action for wetland protection.
- WWA has also developed a Local Government Outreach Program to educate local decision-makers about the public benefits of wetlands and to help local governments better protect local wetlands. Learn more here and share this work with your local community leaders.
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- Restore Wetlands. More than half of the original 10 million acres of wetlands in Wisconsin have been lost. Restoring wetlands that were ditched, drained, and tiled will help restore many of the important natural benefits that wetlands provide. Our award-winning Wetland Restoration Handbook encourages responsible and effective restoration of wetlands by covering the fundamentals of wetland restoration in a fun and exciting way. (Much of the content of this Handbook is also available on our website. To download PDF versions of Handbook chapters, visit Wisconsin DNR's website.)
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Become a member of Wisconsin Wetlands Association.
Wisconsin Wetlands Association offers award-winning programs that help to protect and restore wetlands and provide opportunities for their enjoyment to the public. Our work is possible because of the support of our members.
 The support we receive from individuals allows us to address many of Wisconsin’s wetlands’ most basic needs -- from advocacy at the state capitol against legislation that is harmful to wetlands and waterways, to programs for landowners on wetland restoration techniques, to science-based education about the impacts of invasive species on wetland health and function. Please help us be able to continue this important work by supporting Wisconsin Wetlands Association -- do your part to make a difference for the survival and health of Wisconsin’s wetlands. Join today!
"Like" wetlands!
Check us out on Facebook and Twitter during May for daily posts of wetland facts, poems, photos, and reasons we love our wetlands. We hope you’ll take some time with us to share the reasons you love YOUR wetlands.
Check out other wetland resources.
We’ve collected a few of our favorite links to help connect you with other resources of information about wetlands:
Wisconsin:
National & International:
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