Representative Ian Mackey, a Democrat from St. Louis County, was vehemently opposed to the bill, and said in a passionate address to his colleagues: “Women brought all of us into this world, and I sure hope they vote all of us out.”
Missouri hasn’t been behaving exactly like the Show-me state lately, passing such spectacularly bad legislation that it’s making headlines, but surprisingly it has has found time for an epiphany. Wetlands are important. Who knew?
The importance of Missouri wetlands
Many people are realizing the important roles wetlands play in re-charging and stabilizing underground aquifers, moderating flood waters and governing the flow of water. On top of these qualities are the recreational benefits some of our wetlands provide to millions of hunters, anglers and nature-viewers each year.
May is American Wetlands Month. That means this time of year is a good opportunity to focus on a habitat most people have heard of, but when pressed for details, many might have a hard time defining. Sadly, wetlands aren’t as common in Missouri as they once were, either.
It’s estimated there were between six and nine million acres of wetland habitat in Missouri when the first settlers arrived. Things are much “drier” today – there’s under a million acres of wetland habitat in the state.
Wetlands are an important – and in some areas – a disappearing – part of Missouri’s natural landscape.
You’re kidding! Those swampy good for nothing corners that are useless for building and too wet to plant crops. They matter? Time for a crash course.
A wetland is an area containing enough soil moisture to support a variety of water-tolerant plants. Coontail, smartweed, duckweed, wild millet and cottonwood trees are just a few of a number of plants that have adapted to growing in areas of standing water and/or saturated soils.
This vegetation serves a number of purposes to the wetland. The plants’ seeds, leaves, roots, fruits and nuts provide food for a variety of birds and mammals. Vegetation also provides nesting habitat and/or brood-rearing habitat for many birds and mammals and, in deeper water, spawning and egg-laying areas for fish and amphibians. Wetlands provide autumn and spring stop-over sites for millions of migrating waterfowl and year-round habitat for some. Put it all together and you have one of Missouri’s most diverse habitats. It’s estimated nearly half of the plant species found in the state are associated with wetlands and more than a quarter of Missouri’s nesting and migratory birds depend on wetlands for part of their life cycle.
But wetlands benefit more than just the plants and animals of the state. Studies have shown wetlands help reduce pollution levels in water. The thick vegetation also helps filter silt and other particles out of water that overflow from streams during a flood event. This results in clearer and healthier waterways once the water returns to the stream channel.
Whoa, that’s pretty important. I heard something about this on the news. Something about some dumb animal that can help make and maintain wetlands. What was it called again? Some kind of chicken or a mud-possum? I forget.
The types of naturally occurring wetlands in Missouri are marshes, sinkhole ponds, swamps, shrub swamps, bottomland forests, bottomland prairies, groundwater seeps, fens, oxbow lakes (sloughs), and stream riparian areas. All were found here in pre-settlement times. Some were created by the periodic flooding of large rivers like the Missouri and Mississippi and the many streams that meander through the state’s low-lying floodplains. Others resulted from stream flow that was backed up by the numerous beaver dams found in parts of the state. Still others were the results of groundwater seeping from the base bluffs or hills or where water pooled in low-lying areas.
Oh that’s right. That’s who makes wetlands. BEAVERS! Those annoying things we kill all the time. in fact, the name beaver is practically a synonym for the name wetlands. Honestly, this whole final paragraph would read so much better if we just fixed that problem. Here, see for yourself.
Today, the values of beavers are being re-discovered. Many people are realizing the important roles beavers play in re-charging and stabilizing underground aquifers, moderating flood waters and governing the flow of water. On top of these qualities are the recreational benefits some of our beavers provide to millions of hunters, anglers and nature-viewers each year. Because of these characteristics, beaver protection and restoration has become one of the biggest conservation missions – and challenges – in Missouri and elsewhere around the country.
Ahhh that’s much better, Thank you!
