Wetlands clean air and water, and save soil

By Deacon Tom Cervone, Ph.D., Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C., and Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. M.S. 

Our Mother Earth

Editor’s note: This series takes a deeper look at Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical On the Care for Our Common Home, “Laudato Si’”.

Did you know the estimated Indiana wetlands, circa 1780, was 5.6 million acres or 24.1% of the state? Today, there are 3.5% wetland acres in the State – a loss of 85% (IDNR, Indiana Wetlands Conservation Plan, June 1996). One million of these acres were in the Grand Kankakee Marsh (Jack Klasey, 2/2/19, Daily Journal, Kankakee, Illinois) which has been effectively lost today. 

Wetland EPA facts (Functions and Values of Wetlands, September 2001) are:

  • In 1991, wetland-related ecotourism activities such as hunting, fishing, bird-watching, and photography added approximately $59 billion to the national economy.
  • According to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations in 1997, almost $79 billion per year is generated from wetland-dependent species.
  • An acre of wetland can store 1–1.5 million gallons of floodwater.
  • Up to one-half of North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands.
  • Although wetlands make-up only about 5% of the land surface in the United States, they are home to 31% of our plant species.

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems, equal to rain forests and coral reefs (EPA, Sept. 2001). They capture a considerable amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas); function like kidneys in filtering our water; and hold water like a sponge, which reduces flooding and erosion. They are so important, that a “no net loss wetland policy” was adopted in 1989 by the President George H. W. Bush administration. It is also noteworthy that wetlands are not always wet, for many are seasonally flooded like river floodplains. 

Wetlands can be classified as riverine, lacustrine or palustrine (Cowardin et al., 1979). Riverine are rivers and streams; lacustrine are lakes; and palustrine are wetlands with emergent mosses, lichens, grasses, sedges, rushes, shrubs, trees or open water. Examples of wetlands in Indiana are bogs, dunes and swales, fens, flatwoods, floodplain forests, scrub/shrub, marshes, ponds and lakes. Each of these wetlands have important functions and values.

Functions can be defined by their habitat, hydrology or water quality. Habitat includes food, water, shelter, and breeding and nursery areas for insects, fish, shellfish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Hydrologically, wetlands are important to recharge groundwater supplies, reduce flood risks and reduce streambank erosion. For water-quality purposes, wetlands capture sediments, assimilate and trap pollutants and perform biochemical processes required to keep water clean. 

Values are recreation, fisheries, hunting, timber, habitat, food, livestock foraging and watering, shoreline erosion protection, flood peak reduction, pollution control, regulating local climates, capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, water quality improvements and our overall physical health and wellness. 

In summary, wetlands are our “unsung ecological heroes.” Understanding their importance allows us to realize their balancing capabilities in helping keep our water and air clean, and soils in place. Do we need any more reasons to protect and preserve wetlands? 

What can you do? 

  • Learn more about and visit wetlands in your area (e.g., Hovey Lake, Eagle Slough, Sloughs Wildlife Management Area, Audubon State Park, Howell Wetlands and more).
  • Join the Friends of the Patoka River and Friends of the Green River National Wildlife Refuges, Sycamore Land Trust, Audubon Society, and other wetland organizations.
  • Tell others to support and protect wetlands, including your local, state and federal representatives.
  • As a committed group of environmentally conscious creation care advocates, let’s do our part in protecting and caring for our wetlands. It simply is in our best interest!

Dr. Tom Cervone is a deacon at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Evansville, Indiana with 50 years of experience in ecology. He graduated from St. Bonaventure University, a Franciscan College. Sister Maureen Houlihan, D.C. is a support sister on the Seton Harvest Farm started by the Daughters of Charity in response to the Communities - Care of Mother Earth. This Community Supported Agriculture Farm grows all natural produce for shareholders and the poor. Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. MS. is an award winning ELL (English Language Learner) teacher, who lives in Evansville, Indiana with her family.