Wetland Values

Since practically every wetland function has some value to individuals and society, wetland values closely correspond to wetland functions.

Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping

According to the American Sportfishing Association, more than 35 billion dollars is spent annually by an estimated 50 million people on fishing. These expenditures generate over one trillion dollars of economic output. In Michigan alone, anglers spend more than $1.5 billion on their sport and generate nearly $3 billion in total economic output. Hunting and trapping also generate significant economic output, especially in rural areas of the state.

Since nearly all sport fishes, many popular game animals, and most fur-bearing animals depend on wetlands for their survival, healthy and functioning wetland ecosystems are necessary to maintain the resource base for this segment of the economy.

Water Quality Maintenance

Whether it is used for recreation, drinking water, or industrial processes, everyone needs clean water. For example, the value of wetlands for maintaining water quality can easily be seen if we look at the problem of municipal water supply and treatment. On the delivery side of the water equation, clean water resulting from the water quality maintenance function of wetlands helps to keep water treatment costs low. Ground water is vulnerable to contamination at many recharge areas. The filtering capacity of wetlands and the absence of pollution-generating uses in wetlands serve to protect vulnerable aquifers. On the treatment side of the water use equation, the pollution treatment functions of natural wetlands have been mimicked in artificial wetlands constructed to serve as wastewater treatment systems and to reclaim areas degraded by strip mining. As alternatives to typical engineered systems, created wetlands provide a cost-effective approach to meeting human needs.

Water Supply

Because wetlands store water and slowly release it, they are often very important for maintaining base flow in streams. Wetlands are also very important for water storage during drought conditions. In severe drought years, the only vegetation lush enough to cut for hay may be from wetland areas.

Food and Fiber Production

Wetlands support many commercial activities. In addition to the revenue generated by hunting, fishing, and trapping wetland species, wetlands provide a variety of natural products including blueberries, cranberries, and wild rice. Wetland grasses are hayed in many places for winter livestock feed. Forested wetlands, such as cedar swamps, can provide sustained yields of valuable timber if harvested with careful management and planning. It must be noted that many commercial activities, such as peat mining, logging, livestock grazing, or cranberry cultivation can severely degrade wetlands and a majority of their values if not done on a small scale with the utmost of care.

Flood Protection

Each year, many Michigan communities experience severe flooding and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage is caused by flooding across the United States. Due to below market cost of federal flood insurance and other forms of federal assistance to help flood victims, the American taxpayer bears the majority of the financial burden of flood damage. The flood storage and conveyance functions of wetlands can help to prevent flooding, resulting in substantial savings to the taxpayer. In the 1990s, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the devastating damage cause by flooding of the upper Mississippi River watershed, federal, state, and local agencies coordinated restoration of thousands of acres of wetlands. This move was reminiscent of the 1970s, when the New England District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded that natural wetland protection was the most cost-effective means of floodwater control for the Charles River near Boston. As a result of that finding, instead of expensive engineered dikes, dams, and levees which all degrade wetlands, the Corps acquired nearly ten thousand acres of wetlands in the Charles River watershed for permanent protection.

Sedimentation and Erosion Control

Controlling erosion and sedimentation into our lakes and streams can be expensive, especially when considering the high cost of shoreline property. Many riparian landowners experience erosion along the shore of their lake or stream. Often, this is a result of landowner activities that result in making the shoreline more susceptible to erosion (e.g., vegetation removal) or other human-caused circumstances (e.g., excessive boat wake). Maintaining or restoring wetland vegetation at the shore can be a cost-effective means of protecting the property from erosion and protecting the lake or stream from sedimentation.

Historic and Archeological Values

Some wetlands are important for historic, archeological, or paleontological reasons. Because wetlands served as a good source of food, early Native American settlements were often located in or near wetlands. Well-preserved remains of prehistoric mammals and Native American artifacts have been found in Michigan's wetlands. Bogs, due to the extremely slow rate of decomposition resulting mainly from anaerobic conditions and their acidic nature, were used by pre-historic residents of Michigan to store meat- mastodon meat!

Education and Research

Wetlands serve as wonderful outdoor classrooms, providing excellent opportunities for discovery and living examples of nearly all ecological principles. Boardwalks and observation platforms have been constructed in many wetlands across the state to facilitate educational activities.

Cultural, Philosophical, and Psychological Values

For thousands of years our cultural imagination has used wetlands as a metaphor for mystery and intrigue. Movies like "The Swamp Thing" tap into deep-rooted fear of what might be hidden in the wetland. Words used to describe wetlands-Swamp, Bog, Muskeg, Mire-evoke images of the dark and unpleasant side of human existence. Although on the surface negative, the evocative nature of wetlands is important to our psyche. In this age where the landscape is nearly completely controlled by the hand of our culture, wetlands provide rare opportunities to experience the wild force and the fecundity of nature. The existence of this wilderness, even though not everyone may choose to physically enter it, is psychologically important. Some philosophers and writers feel that without the real presence of wetlands on the landscape-intact wetlands in all their magnificent mystery, beauty, and fecundity-the power of the metaphor, and its meaning to our culture, would be lost.

Recreation and Aesthetic Values

The richness of the plant and animal communities found in wetlands make them some of Michigan's most beautiful natural environments. Bird watching is quickly becoming a popular pastime and wetland-rich communities, such as the Les Cheneux area in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, are beginning to realize the economic benefits of promoting this activity. Rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species provide added interest for naturalists. Wetlands provide valuable open space for visual and recreational enjoyment. Throughout the state, protected wetlands have been shown to enhance the value of neighboring properties due to these factors. Perhaps the most valued function of wetlands is the space they provide for introspection, quiet reflection, and the opportunity to experience wildness.