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Wetlands Media Kit

Your one-stop shop for news and information regarding wetlands from the Department of Natural Resources.

Fast Facts

Seasonal or 'ephemeral' wetlands are nurseries and pantries for developing salamanders, like this one shown here, and for frogs, and turtles. Even sites less than an acre can produce hundreds of these creatures.
Seasonal or "ephemeral" wetlands are nurseries and pantries for developing salamanders, like this one shown here, and for frogs, and turtles. Even sites less than an acre can produce hundreds of these creatures.
Photo credit: DNR

  • Spring and early summer brings Wisconsin's seasonal wetlands to life. These so-called "ephemeral wetlands [PDF 639 Kb]" temporarily hold water and are usually isolated from permanent waterbodies. They are among the most imperiled in the state but are important for flood control and water quality, habitat for migrating birds, especially waterfowl, and for young frogs, turtles and salamanders.
  • Spring also heightens wetlands' importance in flood control. Wetlands, depending on where they're located in a watershed, can retain a lot of floodwater and reduce flooding downstream.

General

  • People often think of wetlands as having open water, cattails and ducks. But Wisconsin has more than a dozen different kinds of wetlands - everything from forests along lakes and streams, to meadows -- even prairies and shrub thickets.
  • Wetlands all share the following characteristics: water-loving plants, wet soils, and evidence of water.
  • Wisconsin had an estimated 10 million acres of wetlands before becoming a state in 1848. Over the decades, nearly half of those wetlands - or 4.7 million acres - were drained or filled to make way for farms, cities, roads and factories1.
  • Once considered wastelands and breeding grounds for mosquitoes that brought disease and death, Wisconsin wetlands are now recognized for their many benefits and are carefully protected. In fact, Wisconsin became the first state to pass legislation restoring protections to isolated wetlands stripped by a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision. A timeline traces the changing attitudes in Wisconsin about wetlands over the last four centuries.


Ephermal wetlands are hard to define, identify and protect because they tend to be small, isolated, and dry for part if not most of the year. This photo shows a seasonal wetland in southeastern Wisconsin in May, and then what the same spot looks like in drier months.
Photo credit: DNR


July
Photo credit: DNR


December
Photo credit: DNR

Benefits

  • Wetlands play a critical role in maintaining the overall health and functioning of lakes, rivers, prairies and forests because they're located among these landscapes. They also provide critical habitat for Wisconsin plants, fish and wildlife, clean water, protection from floods, recreation, and natural scenic beauty.
  • 90 percent of the fish recreational anglers catch nationally spend some part of their life in Wetlands2. In Wisconsin, sport fishing generates $2.7 billion in business and provides $200 million in tax revenues for local and state government.
  • Wetlands reduce flooding peaks by as much as 60 percent and the EPA estimates that an acre of wetlands can store 1 - 1.5 million gallons of floodwaters3.
  • Nearly 40 percent of Wisconsin's 370 species of birds live in or use wetlands and many important game birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles are associated with wetlands, among them waterfowl, white-tailed deer, ring-necked pheasants, northern pike and walleye4. In Wisconsin, bird-watchers and wildlife watchers spend $271 million annually waiting for a glimpse of their favorites5.
  • Polluted runoff from cities, farms and construction sites is filtered by wetlands before entering lakes and rivers. Clean lakes and rivers are the backbone of Wisconsin's tourism industry, which generated $12 billion in 2007.
  • The filtering capability of wetlands cuts the cost of treating drinking water. Some wetlands can remove a quantity of pollutants from the watershed equivalent to that removed from a $5 million treatment plant6.
  • One-third of the plants and animals on Wisconsin's state endangered and threatened list depend on wetlands7.
  • Wisconsin wetlands also protect water quality by filtering out polluted runoff, prevent flooding by storing water, and provide recreation for boaters, hunters, canoeists, wildlife watchers and others.

Protection

  • Sixteen organizations and government agencies have created a strategic plan, "Reversing the Loss," to help reverse the destruction of wetlands in Wisconsin/ It calls for all citizens to help ?protect, restore and explore? these valuable natural resources.
  • Wetlands are protected by state and federal rules and in some places, by local regulations or ordinances as well. Landowners and developers are required to avoid wetlands with their projects; if the wetlands can't be avoided, they must seek the appropriate permits to affect wetlands.
  • DNR's efforts to improve its wetland permitting program have paid off in shorter waits for landowners on permit decisions and better protection for wetlands. Landowners and developers get permits in an average of 30 days once a complete application is turned in. The average loss of wetlands due to permitted projects has decreased to 250 acres a year, down from about 1,200 annually before DNR's permitting program began in 1991.
  • More wetland acres are filled for state transportation projects than for any other use the state can track and monitor.
  • Wisconsin is making progress in restoring wetlands. Private individuals and conservation groups have worked in partnership with state and federal agencies to restore wetlands. In 2007, 2,788 acres were restored, and 827 acres of existing wetlands were improved.

1. 2. EPA843-F-06-004 3. EPA843-F-06-001. 4. Wisconsin's Biodiversity as a Management Issue Report, 1995. 5. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation 6.EPA832-R-93-005) 7. Wisconsin's Biodiversity as a Management Issue Report, 1995.

Toolkit

Check These Out!

DNR produced TV and radio spots to promote the toolkit

Since their launch Oct. 28, 2008, new online informational tools have helped thousands of Wisconsin property owners learn whether they have wetlands on property they want to buy or build on -- when wetlands are not readily apparent.

Locating Wetlands is the gateway to these new informational tools.

A UW survey commissioned as part of the project revealed that Wisconsin residents are concerned about the destruction of remaining wetlands, but knew less about the state's drier type of wetlands.

Poll Shows Wisconsin Residents Support Wetlands Protection.

The DNR collaborated with the Wisconsin REALTORS? Association, the Wisconsin Wetland Association and government organizations on the tools, which were developed under grant funding from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, the Great Lakes Protection Fund and the Natural Resources Foundation. The project was supported and informed by the Wisconsin County Code Administrators, the Wisconsin Towns Association, The League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and the Wisconsin Builders Association.

Waking Up to Wetlands
New informational tools seek to help people "Wake Up to Wetlands" before they buy land or build upon it.

Components of the Wetland Toolkit

Wetland Indicator Map
This interactive map online shows wetlands that have been officially mapped through the Wisconsin Wetland Inventory process and areas that may be wetlands based on the soils found in federal soil maps. Officially mapped wetlands are outlined in yellow and potential wetlands are shaded in pink.

Physical clues checklist
DNR wetland biologists developed a checklist of plants, soils and other clues that landowners can look for while walking a property. The checklist can be downloaded from the DNR web site, and people can also find photographs of the tree and plant species and other wetland clues.

Real Estate Addendum
The Real Estate Addendum is a legal document that can be filed as an addendum to an offer to purchase. It allows buyers an opportunity to verify that wetlands are present on a property and to negotiate a mutual remedy with the seller, which might include the ability to rescind or modify the offer terms, if wetlands are confirmed.

Web pages and informational video
The wetland indicator maps, real estate addendum and other materials that will help landowners learn if there are wetlands on a property can all be accessed via the DNR's revamped "Locating Wetlands" web pages. People can watch "Waking Up to Wetlands," a video guide that takes a lighthearted look at the steps, or can go right to the individual tools.

Contacts

Wetland Toolkit Contacts

General Information
Cherie Hagen, DNR, (715) 635-4034
cherie.hagen@wisconsin.gov

Online Wetland Maps
Lois Simon, DNR (608) 266-8852
lois.simon@wisconsin.gov

Wetland Addendum
Tom Larson, Wisconsin REALTORS Association (608) 241-2047
Erin O'Briend, Wisconsin Wetlands Association (608) 250-9971

More DNR Wetland Contacts

Wetland Ecology and Functions
Pat Trochlell - (608) 267-2453
patricia.trochlell@wisconsin.gov

Wetland Policy
Cherie Hagen, DNR, (715) 635-4034
cherie.hagen@wisconsin.gov
Liesa Lehmann Kerler (608) 264-8554
liesa.lehmannkerler@wisconsin.gov

Wetland Regulations
Dale Simon (608) 267-9868
byron.simon@wisconsin.gov

Wetland Restoration
Ricky Lien (920)892-8756 ext. 3045
Ricky.Lien@Wisconsin.gov

Wetland Compensatory Mitigation
Pat Trochlell - (608) 267-2453
patricia.trochlell@wisconsin.gov

Soundbites

These soundbites address informational tools - including maps and a real estate addendum - created to help people know when there are wetlands or potential wetlands on a property.

Lois Simon, DNR's coordinator of the Wisconsin Wetland Inventory

Cherie Hagen, Wetland Team Leader, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Thomas D. Larson, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, Wisconsin REALTORS? Association

Erin O'Brien, Wetland Policy Specialist, Wisconsin Wetland Association

More Resources

Related News

Crex Meadows Wildlife Festival features guided bus tours, wildlife programs, Wetlands Gems dedication
Issued by DNR Northern Region on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 12:51:17 PM

Online maps can help people identify potential wetlands on property
Issued by DNR Central Office on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 2:27:40 PM

Land buyers can learn if they have wetlands before they buy land, build
Issued by DNR Southeast Region on Monday, November 24, 2008 at 3:04:18 PM

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Last Revised: Sunday, November 22, 2009