Wetlands: the kidneys of our ecosystems

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:

Protecting Water Quality

Wetlands remove pollutants from surface- and groundwater through:

Sediment trapping: small swales or ponds are positioned between the input and the main wetland to promote coarse particle settling before water is distributed across the wetland

Nutrient removal: when water flows through a wetland, it absorbs, transforms, sequesters, and removes the nutrients and chemicals

- - “Wetlands are so effective at removing excess nutrients from water that many municipalities have built wetlands specifically for treating effluent from secondary sewage treatment plants. Natural wetlands are not suited for this purpose and for each wetland there is a limit to how much can be added before the natural plant and chemical processes are overloaded and break down.” (Wetland Functions and Values: Surface and Groundwater Protection)

Chemical detoxification: toxic chemicals are converted into less harmful chemical forms by biological processes or by exposure to sunlight for extended periods

Providing Critical Habitat

Wetlands are home to many organisms like fish, birds, invertebrates, amphibians, and many mammals.

Many of these organisms use wetlands as spawning or nesting sites. Wetlands can also serve as a food source for some organisms. Wetlands are primary habitats for many species, but even for those who do not use them as a habitat, wetlands still play a vital role in many species' lifecycles.

“About 43% of the nation's endangered and threatened species rely directly or indirectly on wetlands for survival.” (Wetland Functions and Values: Water Storage for Flood Water and Storm Runoff)

Mitigating Erosion and Flooding Impacts

Like a sponge, wetlands are able to store water and slowly release it when necessary.

The slow release of water helps reduce erosion downstream. Wetlands are able to hold and store floodwater, protecting surrounding habitats. Some of this water is soaked into the ground when it is in the wetland. “Wetlands that provide for the temporary storage of floodwater or stormwater runoff to the extent that they make an important contribution to: reducing risks to public safety, reducing damage to public or private property, reducing downstream erosion or enhancing the stability of habitat for aquatic life, are significant wetlands.” (Wetland Functions and Values: Water Storage for Flood Water and Storm Runoff)

Sequestering Carbon

Wetlands are fantastic carbon sinks. Despite making up significantly less land mass than forests, wetlands in the continental U.S. store an estimated 13.5 billion metric tons of carbon, compared to 866 million metric tons of carbon stored by U.S. forests each year.

Due to wetlands’ high levels of saturation, they have very low oxygen levels. This causes a much slower rate of decomposition, which allows wetlands to store significant amounts of carbon through undecomposed organic matter. Forested wetlands in the Upper Midwest (like what we have in Marquette County) store some of the largest amounts of soil carbon of any ecosystem in the world. This means the carbon stays in the soil, instead of being released into the atmosphere as carbon emissions. In other words, intact wetlands prevent climate change!

Click here for more information!

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

Background

Near Priest Lake in Idaho, Michael and Chantelle Sackett own a ⅔-acre plot of land where they planned to build a house. In preparation, they filled in around half an acre with gravel, which drew attention from the EPA, who told the Sacketts that they were filling in wetlands which discharged into the “Waters of the United States” and threatened fines of over $40,000 per day. They have fought this decision in court for the past 15 years. Regarding the Sacketts’ property:

“According to the EPA, the “wetlands” on the Sacketts’ lot are “adjacent to” (in the sense that they are in the same neighborhood as) what it described as an “unnamed tributary” on the other side of a 30-foot road. App. 33. That tributary feeds into a non-navigable creek, which, in turn, feeds into Priest Lake, an intrastate body of water that the EPPA designated as traditionally navigable”. Sackett v EPA. 598 U. S. ___. (2023). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf

Waters of the United States

What led to a larger dispute was the varying interpretation of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The CWA describes WOTUS as navigable bodies of water and adjacent wetlands. A navigable body of water is a permanent water body large enough to travel through with a boat, like a stream, ocean, river, or lake.

In Sackett v EPA, the Court decided that for a wetland to be considered “adjacent” and covered under the WOTUS rule, the wetland must have a “continuous surface connection” with a navigable body of water. This means the wetland must be virtually indistinguishable from the protected water, and that you must be able to see water the entire way between the protected water and the adjacent wetland. This overly narrow definition does not take into account ecosystem functions, such as groundwater movement, which often connect wetlands to WOTUS waters without a surface connection. It also does not cover wetlands separated from protected waters “only by a man-made dike or barrier, natural river berm, beach dune, or the like.” Sackett v EPA. 598 U. S. ___. (2023). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf

Previously, the EPA relied on a plurality opinion from Rapanos v United States (2005) that stated a wetland must have a “significant nexus” to WOTUS waters. The significant nexus test took many environmental factors into consideration when making a determination about a wetland’s protected status.

What We're Facing Now

This decision removed federal protection for about 50% of the nation’s wetlands which were previously protected under the WOTUS rule. These ecosystems are no longer safe from destruction and pollution, a huge loss for wetlands since they fill an extremely important role in their ecosystems. Now, protection of these wetlands will rely on state and local government action.

More information on Sackett v EPA (2023):

Supreme Court case puts your clean water at risk

Sackett vs. Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act, and the value of wetlands and property rights - Field Crops

Supreme Court curtails Clean Water Act - SCOTUSblog

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!

Powell Township

Powell Township’s planning and zoning decisions are guided by a Master Plan, last updated in 2021, and a Zoning Ordinance, last updated in 2018. A Master Plan is meant to be a guiding framework, while a Zoning Ordinance sets binding requirements.

The Master Plan emphasizes the importance of wetlands and discourages development in them:

- - “Wetlands… are among the most important natural features impacting land use in Powell Township.” (5-1)
  - “Beyond their aesthetic value, wetlands improve water quality of lakes, streams and ground-water by filtering polluting nutrients, organic chemicals and toxic heavy metals. Wetlands are closely related to high groundwater tables and serve to discharge or recharge aquifers. Additionally, wetlands support wildlife, and wetland vegetation protects shorelines from erosion.” (5-5)
  - “Perhaps the most valuable natural resource of [Powell] Township is the abundance of fresh water. Having been of historic importance, it is also the resource that will, to a great extent, determine the future of the area. Thus, the management of water becomes a prime factor in planned development. The principal reasons for controlling development on or near water are to protect watersheds, to preserve the quality and quantity of the water supply, and to prevent damaging floods.” (5-6)
  - “The fishery and wildlife are important to Powell Township which reflects the importance of maintaining a high level of water quality.” (5-7)
  - “There are areas within the Township which, because of terrain, wetlands, or the presence of unique habitats or species, are not suitable for development.” (8-6)

However, the Zoning Ordinance includes very little in the way of wetland protection:

- Section 704 sets required fields for site plans for commercial, industrial, multiple family residential, PUD, and all other development excluding single or two-family residential, accessory, and recreational. Two required fields are:
  - (N) “The location of natural features affecting development, such as rock outcrops, water, wetland, etc.”
  - (P) “The location and extent of any planned earth movement. Indicate status of any necessary permits, such as …wetlands permit, etc.”

Powell Township has lost 43% (7,578 acres) of its original wetlands. To prevent even more loss, policy protections need to be put in place.

Why does this matter for Big Bay now?

The federal government is in an era of environmental deregulation. This exposes gaps in our state protections as well, and the amount of wetlands we’ve already lost has heavy impacts on our water quality and resilience. Continuing to accept the system as it is will continue to result in destroyed wetlands, which we can’t afford to lose.
Also, climate change impacts are predicted to drive thousands of people to the UP in the coming decades; we have an abundance of freshwater and a low risk for heat stress compared to the rest of the United States. Given Powell Township’s proximity to the population center of Marquette, we must be prepared to see some of that expansion. Putting protections in place now will help to preserve the natural spaces and ecosystem services that make Big Bay so special.

Chocolay Township

Chocolay Township makes planning and zoning decisions based on a nonbinding guiding framework known as a Master Plan, and a set of binding requirements, known as a Zoning Ordinance. The township's Master Plan and Zoning Ordinance were both last updated in 2021.

Chocolay’s master plan identifies threats to wetlands and notes motivation for protections:

“[Of results gathered from a community survey,] most participants were supportive of land use regulations to protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and sensitive natural features such as wetlands, steep slopes, and dunes.”(10)
“This plan evaluates the risks and opportunities associated with these areas of particular concern from a larger ecosystem perspective. The focus is sensitive environmental areas such as… wetlands… and other natural features that provide vital ecosystem functions or that need protection so that other vital functions will not be compromised.” (70)
“[Wetlands not regulated by the State] in the Township are not regulated. These are small, isolated wetlands that can be dredged and filled without a permit and yet often serve many of the same functions as the regulated wetlands on a smaller scale.” (71)
“Local units of government are authorized to adopt and administer their own wetland regulations, provided they are at least as restrictive as state regulations. The Township should encourage the establishment of buffer zones or the preservation of native vegetation or mature trees around existing jurisdictional wetlands.” (71)

The Zoning Ordinance includes shoreline, waterfront, and dune setback protections, but not wetland protections, except for in rural cluster development subdivisions:

A dune protection overlay district prevents development on sand dunes or within 100 feet from the erosion hazard line. (47)
“All new structures on lots abutting any body of water, including but not limited to inland lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, impoundments, and Lake Superior, shall maintain a minimum setback of 100 feet as measured from the edge of a river or the edge of a lake's shoreline.” (89)
“New development [in a rural cluster development subdivision] should be separated by at least one hundred (100) feet from wetlands, surface waters or other sensitive open space.” (97)

Why does this matter for Chocolay Township now?

If you drink and swim in clean water, thank a wetland. These ecosystems filter pollutants from water, store carbon, provide habitat, and reduce erosion and flooding impacts by slowing the flow.

Federal deregulation of wetland impacts has forced reliance on our state protections, which do not go far enough to preserve wetlands. The amount of wetlands we’ve already lost has heavy impacts on our water quality and resilience. Continuing to accept the system as it is will continue to result in more destroyed wetlands, which we can’t afford to lose.

As climate change drives migration to the Upper Peninsula and Marquette area in coming decades, our communities will see an influx of development. Putting protections in place now will help to preserve the ecosystem services that will continue to sustain our land and water.

Join Citizens for Superior in asking Chocolay Township to implement local-level protections for wetlands.

Integrating protections into Chocolay’s ordinance now gives them authority over what happens to the wetlands in their jurisdiction.

Marquette Township

Marquette Township’s planning and zoning decisions are guided by a nonbinding framework called a Master Plan, last updated in 2020, and a set of regulations called a Zoning Ordinance, last updated in 2021. As of 2024, the Township is currently updating its Master Plan.

Marquette Township’s Master Plan admits the sensitive nature of wetlands and discourages development in them:

“In any environmentally sensitive area within a community, development should be prevented.” (3-1)

Objective 1.5: “Discourage development in unsuitable areas, such as those containing steep slopes, flood plains, caving areas, high water tables, wetlands, or shallow soils, or other activities detrimental to human health, safety and welfare.” (7-1)

Objective 1.8: “Strengthen regulations, enforcement measures, and administrative structure to support environmental protection standards that preserve sensitive environmental areas that are incompatible with development.” (7-2)

Objective 1.9: “Continuously review the zoning ordinance to ensure that there are provisions addressing sensitive environmental areas that cross parcel boundaries such as… wetlands, swamps, marshes, wellhead protection areas, and aquifer recharge sites.” (7-2)

The Zoning Ordinance includes general statements in favor of protecting sensitive areas, but does not specifically prevent development in wetlands:

“Planned Unit Development (PUD) regulations are intended to provide for various types of land uses planned in a manner which shall... protect natural features and sensitive environmental areas[...].” (13-2)

“General standards for site plan approval” include “natural features of the site shall be protected and preserved in their original state” to the extent practical for the development.(18-8)

“Unbuildable areas, such as wetlands, areas within the 100-year floodplain, or slopes greater than twenty-five percent (25%) shall not count toward the fifty percent (50%) open space minimum, as provided below. [...]” (20-12)

Marquette Township also has a Stormwater Management Ordinance, which states that use of wetlands for stormwater retention must maintain the natural functions and quality of the wetlands.

Marquette Township has lost over half its wetlands already; we need protections in place now to preserve those remaining.

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

Support our work protecting Marquette County wetlands!

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

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 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

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

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