Wetlands -- they are possibly the most diverse ecosystems on the plant, according to environmental scientists. In California, they house numerous fish species, including the California killifish, bay goby, striped bass, topsmelt and starry flounder. In addition, insects such as the salt marsh water boatman, wandering skipper, and numerous species of beetles and flies reside in this rich habitat. The state's coastal wetlands are also home to the infamous salt marsh harvest mouse.
Generally speaking, these habitats are the marshes, sand beaches, mudflats and the shallow waters of our rivers and creeks whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally; such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water.
They are also nature’s best defense against climate change and subsequent sea-level rise, because of two important functions they perform: they help reduce the concentrations of greenhouse gases through their ability to sink carbon; and store and regulate water. In other words, they act as sponges absorbing any overflow of water.
The federal government came to understand how biologically productive wetlands are and in 1977 enacted the Clean Water Act, the primary federal law in the US governing water pollution and limiting wetlands destruction. The law also created requirements that if a wetland had to be drained, developers at least had to offset the loss by creating artificial wetlands.
Wetlands have historically been the victim of large-scale draining efforts for real estate development, flooding them for use as recreational lakes or agriculture. Ironically, wetlands absorb and protect the surrounding ecosystem from the polluted run-off coming from the agricultural lands that displaced them.
