Wetlands: the kidneys of our ecosystems

Join us for Superior on Tap this Thursday, October 17! This community lecture will feature environmental attorney Kim Ferraro, who will discuss how wetlands are protected by policy and the trends we're seeing for wetland protection in the U.S. It's going to be a good one!

Wetmore Bog is a recreationally open, protected bog environment on the edge of Wetmore Pond in Marquette Township.
This wetland inventory from 2006 shows the general boundaries of wetlands in Marquette County. Green is wetlands, yellow is wetland soils, and blue is bodies of water.
Boardwalk through recreationally open, protected wetlands at Eagle's Nest Community Forest in Marquette Township

Wetlands are areas where soil is inundated with water, near or above the soil’s surface, for at least part of the year. Wetland soils have distinct properties and wildlife due to their high levels of saturation. Many wetlands, like grassy meadows, are defined by a high water table creating saturated soil conditions, and may not have standing water visible.

We are losing wetlands at an alarming rate.

The U.S. loses almost 80,000 acres of wetlands per year due to historic threats such as urbanization and agriculture, as well as new threats like climate change and invasive species.

Wetlands in Marquette County face threats primarily through efforts to drain and/or fill them for residential and commercial development, mining and agricultural land. Local wetlands have also been historically used as dumping sites for industrial operations, especially around Presque Isle. The use of fertilizers and pesticides in farming often seep into wetland ecosystems, causing water pollution and harm to plants and animals. Agriculture and development practices also heavily contribute to climate change, which exacerbates threats to wetlands, as rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns affect the balance of wetland ecosystems. These issues have led to the destruction of over 46,000 acres of wetlands in Marquette County to date. Changes in water levels, increased erosion, and habitat loss are just some of the consequences of wetland loss.

Below are a few resources to learn more about wetland loss and what you can do to help:

Marquette County Conservation District - Wetland Mitigation

EPA - Coastal Wetland Information

Why do we care?

Wetlands are essential to the health of Lake Superior’s watershed. They keep our lakes, streams, and groundwater clean, keep our coastline resilient to erosion and flooding impacts, prevent climate change, and house critical species. Learn more about how wetlands function:

Wetlands are losing federal protection.

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision for Sackett v EPA, stating that wetlands are only protected under the Clean Water Act if they have a “continuous surface connection” to a navigable body of water. This court decision severely limits the power of the CWA, stripping federal protection for 50% of the nation’s wetlands. 

 

When the Clean Water Act (CWA) passed in 1972, its purpose was to regulate pollution and protect wetlands. This meant that the CWA could federally protect all relevant parts of an aquatic ecosystem, such as lakes, streams, rivers, ponds and wetlands. The main goal was to make all of our nation's waters “fishable and swimmable". Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the CWA was cut short with the Court's decision in Sackett v EPA (2023). Learn more about the case and its implications: 

Photo Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain, acquired from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-nation-wetlands-lost-federal-fate.html
Photo Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain, acquired from https://phys.org/news/2023-06-nation-wetlands-lost-federal-fate.html

State Level Protections don't go far enough to protect wetlands

Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has made efforts to prohibit harmful acts such as dumping materials, removing soil, diverting water to other areas, removing tree stumps, constructing structures, etc., from taking place without an authorized permit. However, there are still many different threats to wetlands that go unnoticed and require action.

Michigan’s wetlands have protection under the state’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of 1994, Part 303 Wetlands Protection Statute. 

Part 303 requires a wetland use permit from EGLE in order to drain, fill, or otherwise alter protected wetlands. This helps to lessen modern wetland destruction, but the law only applies to: wetlands connected to a Great Lake, or an inland lake or stream; wetlands not connected to one of those waters but over 5 acres in size; and wetlands not connected to one of those waters and less than 5 acres in size, but deemed essential to the preservation of the state’s natural resources. This does not cover all of our state’s wetlands.

Local Wetland Protections are necessary.

Local units of government are permitted to pass a local wetland protection ordinance that provides a greater level of protection than what the state offers, though it must meet certain criteria. In Michigan, 44 municipalities have passed a wetland protection ordinance. However, not a single municipality in Marquette County, or the Upper Peninsula as a whole, has passed such an ordinance. EGLE provides resources for local governments looking to pass wetland protection ordinances here.

CSCLS is working in Powell Township, Marquette Township, and Chocolay Township to identify gaps in local legislation and find opportunities for local governments to better protect their wetlands. Take a closer look at our review of these townships' current protections!

Benefits of a Local Ordinance
  • Allows local governments to have a say in development of wetland resources

  • Local governments can regulate wetlands less than 5 acres in size

    • Additional conditions must be met to regulate wetlands less than 2 acres

  • Further decentivizes development in wetlands due to permitting costs

There are several different ways to protect wetlands:
  • Conservation easements can protect specific parcels in perpetuity. A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits certain land uses in order to protect its conservation values. Conservation easements allow you to continue to own and use your land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs. There are multiple local land conservancies in the Lake Superior watershed capable of protecting your land; please check them out!
  • Restoration efforts aim to bring degraded wetlands back to their former glory. Restoration is often a piece of wetland mitigation, an offset program established by state and federal permitting. The restoration process involves restoring water resources and native plants to a former wetland, cleaning up pollution or contaminants, and monitoring the site for several years to determine whether efforts were successful in restoring the wetland's ecological functions.
  • Policy protections provide regulations to prevent destruction of wetlands, and are the only way to proactively protect all of a municipality's remaining wetlands. Policy protections at the federal state levels are not completely effective in preventing wetland degradation, and local governments are encouraged to adopt their own programs to provide the strongest protections for wetlands in their jurisdictions.

Wetland I.D. in Marquette County: 

Knowing your wetlands helps keep them safe

Historical wetlands make up 32% of land in Marquette County. Wetlands exist all throughout the county, and most are located on private property; there’s a good chance you have some on your property. Wetlands come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. Types of wetlands in Marquette County include deciduous swamps, wet meadows, emergent marshes, conifer swamps, and bogs. Here are some defining features of these wetland types (information comes from the Michigan Natural Features Inventory Natural Communities List):

Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Deciduous Swamp:

 

  • Seasonally inundated (flooded) areas located primarily in depressions in glacial lakeplains, glacial tills, and outwash plains
  • Deciduous forest, dominated by black ash trees
  • Soil often consists of shallow muck over mineral soils
  • Common plant types include: Grasses and sedges, wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and hardwood trees
Wet Meadow:

 

  • Open, groundwater-influenced areas usually bordering streams, but also along ponds, lakes, and above beaver dams
  • Typically has 100% vegetative cover
  • Forms most commonly in acidic, organic soils 
  • Common plants include: sedges and grasses
Photo by Michael A. Kost
Photo by Michael A. Kost
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Emergent Marsh

 

  • Shallow standing water along the shores of lakes and streams
  • Common plants include: water plantains, sedges, spike-rushes, pond lilies, pickerel weed, arrowheads, bulrushes, and cattails
  • Forms in both mineral and organic soils
Rich Conifer Swamp:

 

  • Standing water is typically visible
  • Groundwater-influenced, mineral-heavy, forested wetland, occurring in outwash channels and plains, glacial lakeplains, and depressions
  • Dominated by northern white cedar and also referred to as cedar swamps
  • Organic soils, can range from alkaline to neutral, to acidic near the soil surface
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Poor Conifer Swamp:

 

  • Precipitation-influenced forested wetland
  • Occur in glacial depressions, and are often found along the edges of lakes and meandering streams
  • Dominated by coniferous trees (mainly black spruce), sphagnum mosses, and small shrubs
  • Soils are composed mainly of peat (partially decomposed organic matter) due to constant inundation causing anaerobic conditions
Northern Shrub Thicket:

 

  • Tall shrub-dominated wetland often occurring on the edges of lakes, beaver floodings, and streams
  • Soils are saturated, nutrient rich, and often medium acidic, but can range from alkaline to acidic
  • Vegetation is heavily dominated by tag alder, but also includes other tree species, grasses, ferns, and wildflowers
  • Common wildlife include beavers, birds, and deer
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Photo by Joshua G. Cohen
Bog

 

  • Nutrient-poor peatland occurring in glacial depressions, and can either fill the entire basin or exist as a floating mat on the edge of a lake
  • Vegetation is dominated by sphagnum mosses and small shrubs, with stunted coniferous trees
  • Soil is very acidic and anaerobic due to its saturated and stagnant nature

References

Burling, J. (2022, June 14). What is the Clean Water Act?. Pacific Legal Foundation. https://pacificlegal.org/what-is-the-clean-water-act/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAmNeqBhD4ARIsADsYfTdFNeCOI8vO-HgJ7KQWl2ZyS24brRSVpHtoLCgZjwvkSuwXjB_p5IQaAhDvEALw_wcB  

Supreme Court of the United States. (2023, May 25). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf  

What is a wetland? | US EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency . (n.d.). https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/what-wetland

Citizens For a Safe & Clean Lake Superior