State, county wetlands under growing pressure

Wetlands are easy to overlook, especially their importance. They may look like unassuming acres of native plants, wet soil, and trees, filled with frogs and other amphibians and animals. That is, until your basement floods, your favorite lake turns green, the shoreline at your lakeside home erodes, or the spring night chorus of frogs you usually enjoy goes silent. These aren’t wastelands but an assembly line of working landscapes – part sponge, part kidney, part nursery – that slow stormwater, filter runoff, recharge groundwater, protect lakes and rivers, sequester carbon, create natural greenspace and recreational areas that stimulate economic benefits, and provide shelter for fish, birds, amphibians, insects, and mammals.