Finding essentially natural sites in parts of the Northeast...can be difficult, for civilization has already left deep scars on earth's peatlands (bogs). We have drained them for farming; we have crossed them with railroads, canals, roadways, and pipelines;...and we have even built towns and cities on them. (From Bogs of the Northeast, by Charles Johnson, 1985.)
When settlers first came to the U.S. and New England, the land was full of wetlands. But as more land was settled and population grew, wetlands were destroyed at a swift rate. Because people often believed wetlands were useless, more that one-half of America's original wetlands were converted to farmland, paved over for housing developments and industrial facilities, used as dumps, or destroyed in other ways. Vermont already has lost more than 35% of its original wetland, and in recent years, the main cause of wetlands destruction has been development.
Although people haven't always understood the beneficial role wetlands play in a healthy ecosystem, we now know that when wetlands are filled or drained, more property is flooded, more wells, streams, and lakes are polluted, more wildlife and habitat disappear, and more scenic beauty vanishes.
How and Why Wetlands are Destroyed
Wetlands, also known as marshes swamps, bogs, peatlands, and fens, are areas where water is permanently or temporarily stored long enough to favor the development of specific plant and animal communities and types of soil. About 220,000 acres in Vermont have been identified as wetlands, amounting to 4% of the state's land area. Another 80,000 acres of wetlands are estimated to exist.
Wetlands often are filled or drained to make way for development, but they also are destroyed indirectly when the habitat they provide for species deteriorates. Alterations on land near wetlands, polluted run-off, litter, and air pollution all cause wetlands habitat to deteriorate.
According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, 466 acres of wetlands were destroyed or impaired between 1990 and 1997. More acresof wetlands are on their way to destruction or impairment through projects that are underway but not yet complete. In addition, people alter many wetlands without reporting their activities to state officials. Of the wetlands documented to have been destroyed or impaired between 1990 and 1997, most were altered through commercial, industrial, or residential development projects. Wetlands were also destroyed or impaired through projects related to pond alterations, roads and other public infrastructure, forests, utilities, and agriculture.
While cumulative losses of wetland habitat are dramatic, the losses usually occur incrementally in Vermont. In a 1988 study, 76% of projects that involved alteration of wetlands were on land parcels of less than one acre, and 93% were on two acres or less.
Increasing development in and around Chittenden County poses the biggest threat to the state's wetlands. Chittenden County has experienced more wetland destruction in recent years than any other area of the state. This problem is likely to get worse in the future, because nearly 40% of the state's wetlands are located in the four counties with the fastest-growing populations: Chittenden, Addison, Franklin and Grand Isle. As population continues to increase in these counties, there is mounting pressure to develop our remaining wetlands. 
Wetlands are important for healthy ecosystems in a number of ways. In addition to their inherent value, wetlands reduce flooding by providing flood storage areas, stabilize lake and river shorelines, keep our surface water and groundwater clean, and provide important habitat for wildlife, including many endangered and threatened species. In addition, wetlands give us recreation and research opportunities, and provide valuable open space.
Wetlands act as temporary storage areas for floodwaters during times of heavy rain and snowmelt. Because wetlands store floodwaters, water later enters rivers and streams at slower rates, reducing flooding and erosion downstream. In watersheds where wetlands have been destroyed, flooding peaks have increased by as much as 80%. Polluted run-off from developed land, roads, yards, farms, eroded sites, and leaking septic systems is washed into lakes and streams when it rains. Wetlands protect the health of both our surface water and grondwater by removing and storing some of these pollutants.
For example, some wetland plants are effective at removing excess phosphorus from water. (Phosphorus can reduce dissolved oxygen content in lakes and cause algae blooms.) In addition, wetlands remove as much as 90% of suspended solids in run-off by allowing the sediments to settle out and become stabilized by plant roots. Without wetlands, these sediments can degrade water quality by reducing light penetration, lowering dissolved oxygen content, and causing sediment buildup downstream. Wetlands also trap some metals in run-off by absorbing them and causing them to degrade.
Although wetlands are very effective at improving the quality of the polluted water that passes through them, they can't withstand unlimited pollution. When wetlands are continually inundated with pollutants over a longer period of time, they usually become less effective at removing pollutants and less able to support diverse plant communities.
Wetlands are among the richest ecosystems in Vermont in the variety of species they support. Some species, such as the Canada goose, wood duck, great blue heron, muskrat, snapping turtle, and bullfrog live in and depend entirely on wetlands. Other species, including the black bear, moose, deer, wood frog, marsh hawk, and northern pike depend on wetlands during part of their life-cycle or during certain times of the year.
Vermont's wetlands also are a link in the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for migratory birds in the spring and fall. Wetlands along the Flyway are important resting and feeding areas for snow geese, Canada geese, ducks, herons, egrets, bittterns, and songbirds.
In addition, a high proportion of the nation's and state's endangered and threatened species rely on wetlands. Nationwide about 40% of the federally endangered or threatened species depend heavily on wetlands, and in Vermont, about 21% of endangered plants and 13% of threatened plants depend on wetlands.
Wetlands are very valuable to society as a whole, but are perceived as less valuable by many of their individual property owners. In fact, wetlands are often developed because the private benefits of altering them exceed the private benefits of preserving them. About 95% of Vermont's remaining wetlands are privately owned.
However, under the Vermont Wetlands Act, which passed in 1986, and the Vermont Wetlands Rules, which took effect in 1990, activities in significant wetlands must go through a permit process. In addition, wetlands are protected under Act 250, Vermont's land use law.
There are also efforts to permanently preserve important wetlands in the state. For instance, a total of 3,500 acres of wetlands on both sides of Lake Champlain have been permanently protected, and another 3,000 acres are expected to be permanently protected in 1998.
Ultimately, we must begin to reduce the impact each person has on the environmnet in order to preserve wetlands, especially if population continues to rise in northwestern Vermont as is predicted. To start down this path, you can:
Controlling Floods
Protecting Water Quality
Providing Habitat for Wildlife
