America’s Waters are Critical for People and Wildlife Alike

From the Everglades to Puget Sound – and all the bogs, brooks, and marshes in between – America’s wetlands, rivers, estuaries, and streams are critical for fish, wildlife, and people. Communities rely on these features for drinking water and flood protection, as well as access to fishing, hunting, recreation, and cultural traditions. Although wetlands cover only 6% of the Earth’s land surface, 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.

More than a third of all federally endangered or threatened species live only in wetlands and half use wetlands at some point in their lives. Freshwater wetlands store and slowly release water downstream, naturally protecting communities from flooding, shoring up water supplies in times of drought, reducing wildfire risk, and cleaning drinking water before it flows out of our taps.

Similarly, small and headwater streams are the capillaries that feed our larger watersheds, supporting native fisheries, supplying drinking water, and absorbing floodwaters. Coastal estuaries and mangrove forests serve as the first line of defense against storm surges and provide important habitat and shelter for fish and wildlife, from oysters to dolphins.

Wetlands and Streams More at Risk Than Ever

Despite their importance, these waters are at risk. The United States has lost over half of our wetlands since European colonization. The latest Wetlands Status and Trends report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows that this trend is continuing. Despite progress made since the passage of the Clean Water Act, between 2009-2019, the rate of wetland loss has increased by 50%. During the last decade, an area of vegetated wetlands greater than the size of Rhode Island disappeared from the landscape.

Activities like development and agricultural practices that drain wetlands and fill them in are primarily driving wetlands loss, but climate change is in play too. While climate change is making flood-absorbing wetlands and seasonal or precipitation dependent streams all the more important, particularly in the arid west where most Western states are experiencing long-term drought conditions, it is also causing wetland loss.

Development and dryer conditions are causing important wetlands features, like the Prairie Potholes of the Great Plains that serve as America’s duck factory, to dry up and disappear. By the end of this century, we are on track to lose up to 90% of coastal wetlands that protect communities from storm surge and provide valuable habitat due to sea level rise.

The latest Wetlands Status and Trends report makes clear that we need to change our approach to wetlands conservation in the United States. Unfortunately, the Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision last year erased longstanding federal Clean Water Act protections for waters, including 63% of our nation’s wetlands and millions of miles of streams.

The loss of federal protections means many wetlands and streams can be polluted and destroyed at will. Although many states and tribal governments have programs that separately protect some wetlands and streams, many other states do not or lack the resources to adequately do so. The result is that countless streams and wetlands have little to no protection. Without action, this will lead to polluted waterways, increased floods, and loss of wildlife.

Freshwater Challenge Will Help Protect Vulnerable Waters

The Administration’s commitment to reconnect, restore and protect 8 million miles of wetlands and 100,000 miles of rivers and streams by 2030 will help federal agencies and state, Tribal, and local communities work together to protect streams and wetlands across the country. The America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge reaffirms the importance of halting wetlands decline and calls on all states, Tribal governments, and entities to advance their own policies and strategies for conserving and restoring America’s freshwater systems.

The partnership urges participants to utilize and leverage all of the tools and approaches available to protect the most at-risk waters. Achieving these goals will be a strong step forward to protect and restore waters now left vulnerable in light of the Sackett decision.

It is more important now than ever that we move forward to defend clean water and restore protections for our nation’s wetlands, rivers, and streams at every level. Clean drinking water, safe recreation and fishing, community resilience to floods and droughts, and healthy habitat for wildlife depend on it.

Tell your decision makers to support efforts to restore and protect wetlands.

Alarmingly, since 2009, the rate of wetland loss has increased by 50 percent. Over the last decade, an area of wetlands the size of Rhode Island has been wiped from the landscape. Moreover, where there have been “gains” in wetland types, it has been in open ponds that do not provide the diverse habitat for wildlife or have the flood absorbing capabilities of the marshes and forested wetlands we are losing. And remaining wetlands are being harmed by human disturbance, with 80 percent of them in only fair or poor condition.

This is bad news for people and wildlife. Wetlands are some of nature’s most protective and productive features. They filter our drinking water, protect us from flooding and drought, provide wildlife habitat, and coastal and marine wetlands sequester climate change-causing carbon at ten times the rate of tropical forests. In terms of the services they provide communities, wetlands have an economic value over 11 times higher than lakes and rivers, 36 times higher than forests, and 33 times higher than grasslands.

The habitat values alone are extraordinary for a resource that covers less than six percent of the landscape of the lower 48 states. About half of threatened and endangered species rely on wetlands. Up to half of all North American bird species and 80 percent of protected bird species depend on wetlands.

The greatest threat to wetlands is activities like development and agricultural practices that drain wetlands and fill them in. Climate change is also causing some wetlands to disappear. Dryer conditions are resulting in important wetlands features, like the Prairie Potholes of the Great Plains that serve as America’s duck factory, to dry up and disappear. And sea-level rise is swallowing up important coastal wetlands that protect communities from storm surge and provide valuable habitat. Up to 90 percent of coastal wetlands could disappear by the end of this century.

As we drain wetlands, the water needs to go somewhere. As such, we are creating more small ponds, which have increased in area by seven percent since the last Status and Trends report in 2009.  But ponds lack the vegetation of healthier wetlands that can slow flood waters and provide habitat for wildlife.

After the passage of the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, wetlands losses were effectively halted. But a chipping away of protections has almost certainly led to recent wetlands losses. Supreme Court decisions over the past twenty years have shed increasing doubt over important federal protections for many wetlands.

Then, last May, the Supreme Court issued a draconian ruling that entirely stripped away federal safeguards for 63 percent of historically protected wetlands and up to about five million miles of streams.

This catastrophic 2023 Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision will undoubtedly result in even more severe wetlands losses if actions are not taken. Congress must step up and restore strong federal protections for all important wetlands. In the meantime, states and localities need to take action to protect their wetlands before they are paved over.

Add your voice today to urge decisionmakers to protect and restore wetlands.

We have had a bipartisan goal of no-net loss since the 1970s which just makes sense. Protecting and restoring the wetlands we have is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to protect us from catastrophic flooding, make sure the water we drink is clean and safe, mitigate drought, and protect wildlife. The price of not correcting this dangerous trend will be high for everyone.

Early January’s bomb cyclone wreaked havoc all along the East Coast with freezing temperatures, snow, rain and pounding winds threatening coastal communities from north Florida to Maine. Among the hardest hit areas was Boston, Massachusetts and its surrounding towns. Storm surge and seasonally high tides combined to tie or possibly break historic records for coastal flooding. Unfortunately, these record breaking storms are not going away anytime soon as our climate warms. And in order for communities to thrive in the face of more intense storms, we must invest heavily in natural storm defenses, like marshes and sand dunes, that benefit wildlife while also creating the right incentives for the responsible development of our coastlines.

In fact, the National Wildlife Federation has been working in the Great Marsh, the largest intact salt marsh in New England, since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Sandy highlighted the vulnerability of northeastern communities to powerful storms. This work culminated in the release of the Great Marsh Coastal Adaptation Plan that highlighted the vulnerability of towns like Newbury, Newburyport and Ipswich to storms and sea-level rise just days before the bomb cyclone hit.

Preparing For the Next Storm

Fortunately, there are common sense approaches we can take to protect our communities while also protecting or enhancing wildlife habitats. For instance, salt marshes have an incredible ability to absorb wave energy and store floodwaters.  They are also vital habitat for shorebirds and other species. By changing local zoning rules, we can limit the impact that development has on salt marshes. And, with a concerted effort from federal, state and local governments and conservation organizations, we can work to rebuild these marshes to benefit both humans and wildlife.

Massachusetts’ beaches are also at risk due to increased erosion. Sand dunes that buffer waves and storm surges are being threatened by development in addition to being tread upon by daily foot traffic. Enforcing existing regulations to keep people off of dunes and limiting how close to beaches development can occur will protect these natural features.

Importantly, features like sand dunes and salt marshes are often less expensive and fail less frequently than concrete structures like jetties and seawalls. Changing development incentives, investing in restoration and other steps won’t prevent the next big storm, but they’ll ensure we are as prepared as we can be when they hit.

Wildlife, too, benefit from these investments.  Salt marshes and sand dunes benefit well known and often threatened species such as snowy owls, saltmarsh sparrows, and piping plovers.  But protected wetlands are also important for species we don’t often see like flounder, striped bass, bluefish and herring, which are an important part of the food chain in coastal ecosystems.

Not Just Small Towns

We appear to be near the record high water level in #Boston. However, it is within a few tenths of an inch and this will need to be confirmed with the NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) @noaaocean before we can confirm or deny whether the record was tied or broken pic.twitter.com/CHiTM6kJ9Z

— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) January 4, 2018

Even large, heavily developed cities like Boston could benefit from the use of natural infrastructure to absorb the impacts of storms. NWF’s state affiliate, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, recently joined with the Charles River Watershed Association to advocate that a proposed redevelopment of Widett Circle just south of downtown should not be developed at all.  The best solution, they argue, would be to create a large wetland that would provide much needed greenspace for the city, increase property value, protect the area from flooding, benefit wildlife and improve water quality.

It is certainly an ambitious proposal, but with all of the challenges facing our communities as climate change continues to intensify, ambition is exactly what we need. From small towns to big cities, the solutions to storms and coastal flooding are right in front of us – they are the natural ecosystems that have provided this protection for eons.  It’s time we embrace the green, wildlife and people friendly opportunities right in front of us.

It can be a helpless feeling to watch from home, but there are ways we can help right now. You can donate to the American Red Cross online or text HARVEY to 90999 to donate $10. To help lost pets and injured wildlife, you can give to TWRC Wildlife Center, Houston Pets Alive or the Houston Humane Society.

Wildlife Impacts

To state the obvious, wildlife can’t heed hurricane warnings. Even birds that have the ability to fly away may not know which way to flee. As we documented in Hurricane Irene’s wake in 2011, wildlife can be harmed by hurricanes in a number of ways, seeing their habitats destroyed, being stripped of food sources, or being blown far off course.

Wildlife rehabilitators are bracing for a flood of injured animals and there are already early reports of how Hurricane Harvey has impacted wildlife. As alligators, rattlesnakes and deer seek higher ground, some are encountering people (though there are also some hoaxes going viral). An injured, exhausted and desperate hawk took refuge in a taxicab. A reporter spotted fire ants banding together to float out the storm. This woman grabbed her net and rescued bats trapped under a bridge by rising water:

Alicia Plunkett is saving bats from drowning in Houston, as water reaches the top of bridges pic.twitter.com/wHnrbN3Sy8

— Jason Allen (@JasonAllenLive) August 27, 2017

Perhaps unexpectedly, fish and wildlife agency staff were among the first to get the call to help and folks from around the Gulf Coast have been racing toward Texas. Their flat-bottomed boats that normally guide them gently over swamps and bayous are ready-made for rescuing people from flooded neighborhoods. Louisiana sportsmen known as the “Cajun Navy” have also generously donated their boats and their time to make rescues. 

What to Watch For

Unfortunately, the forecast remains bleak for the next several days as Harvey is expected to remain over the Gulf Coast dumping rain on already-flooded areas for several more days.

Even after Harvey passes, its ripple effects will continue to become evident:

• Industrial facilities and wastewater plants are likely to be overwhelmed and discharge pollution into local waterways
• The extreme flood waters could create a boom for mosquitoes and all the illnesses they carry (an example of how our warming climate is a great for pests)
• Homes and businesses that survive the storm intact may still have to fend off the threat of mold
• Harvey is likely to make for yet another bleak year for Texas oysters, which have been devastated by a series of floods

Houston has been hammered repeatedly in recent years by major floods like those wrought by Harvey. As ProPublica has documented, local officials have relied more on hard, man-made infrastructure and paved over natural defenses like wetlands and prairie grasses. Harvey may force a re-examination of that strategy.

The Road Ahead

Once the storm has moved on, it will be up to policymakers to help support cleanup and rebuilding efforts. Even before Harvey, there were questions about whether agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers had learned the lessons of past storms like Katrina. “Storms are natural events, but floods are usually manmade disasters. That’s because flood damage depends not only on how much water is involved, but on how many people and structures are in its path and how prior human intervention had affected that path,” writes Michael Grunwald in Politico. 

“Five years ago, I lived through Superstorm Sandy and we vowed that we would make sure no other communities had to suffer in the same ways by making resiliency a national priority. Yet we are watching heartbreaking suffering by the residents of Houston and the Gulf coast because we as a nation have failed to act,” says Collin O’Mara, the National Wildlife Federation’s president and CEO. “For the safety of our communities, we must invest in risk reduction and natural defenses, and find the political courage to adopt policies from removing incentives for developing flood-prone areas to acting on climate. We must act.”

Congress will likely be asked to pass a bill to provide direct funds as it did after superstorm Sandy, a bill that the National Wildlife Federation worked hard to pass. We pushed to make sure rebuilding was done to maximize reliance on nature-based “green infrastructure” solutions that protect both communities and wildlife from storms and floods being worsened by global warming. 

The National Flood Insurance Program, already struggling, is also sure to be newly stressed by Harvey. So far, Congress has tried to bail out the boat of the financially-strapped program rather than plugging its leaks. The National Wildlife Federation has been pushing for real reform to better protect communities and homeowners. Once the storm has passed, Congress will need to take a fresh look at how to fix the NFIP.

We’ll also have to reckon with the fact that yet another American city has been devastated by a storm worsened by climate change. Climate scientists have been warning for a very long time now that warming ocean waters add fuel to storms like Katrina, Sandy, and now Harvey. The National Wildlife Federation has worked to help policymakers connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather. But when it comes to dealing with climate pollution and helping communities adapt to changes already happening, our federal government has responded in fits and starts, at best.

The National Wildlife Federation’s South Central Regional Center is located in Austin, which has seen steady rain but has avoided the brunt of the storm. Our staff there will be monitoring Harvey’s impact on people and wildlife in the coming days and will continue working with our many partners and friends along the coast to assist in the recovery from this catastrophic event.

Manual labor was not in my plans when I signed up to attend a field trip for my conservation biology class to the Ives Road Fen in Tecumseh, MI. It was an opportunity to experience a fen, which is a rare type of wetland that is fed by mineral rich waters and home to a range of wildlife and plants. I was excited to see this rich habitat that was thriving only 45 minutes out of downtown Ann Arbor, MI.

It came as a shock when I realized the large impact invasive species have had on the fen. Even more of a surprise was hearing that I was expected to help remove the tough and invasive autumn olive plants.

When all is said and done however, I’m glad for the experience helping remove invasive species. It really drove home the impact of invasive species to me in a way that a textbook never could.

Books might mention that invasive species have the capability to dominate an ecosystem and wipe out native species, but when you see firsthand how stark and desolate the land is where invasive species have been eradicated the effect is much more powerful. We were in the middle of a remarkable fen ecosystem with hundreds of different species, yet the place where autumn olive had invaded was was now completely barren ground.

I may not have planned on manual labor, nor was I thrilled at having it sprung upon me, but I do plan on returning and bringing others with me to help eradicate autumn olive.

If the work that we did on one Saturday afternoon can help bring back the life and vitality of the fen to that desolate spot then it was entirely worth it.

Any positive action– one day of pulling and hacking invasive species or participating in the cleanup of a small local stream– can have a profound impact on restoring local ecosystems. No action is too small, and I encourage everyone to get involved in whatever way they can to help restore local wildlife habitat.