Working in wetlands differs from working in terrestrial environments in several key ways.
- Wetlands are wet! Many common practices in upland environments simply don’t work in wetlands because of factors like seasonal or permanent standing water and saturated soil.
- Wetlands have special legal protections intended to maintain their unique habitats and protect water quality downstream.
- Wetlands host plant and animal communities with adaptations to survive in flooded and anaerobic soil conditions. Many of these communities also require a specific set of chemical and physical conditions, such as saline or mineral-rich water and soil.
Due to their hydrology, wetlands often have strong connections to surface runoff, groundwater aquifers, streams, and other waterbodies. These hydrologic conditions create unique ecological communities, but make wetlands vulnerable to local and regional hydrologic modifications, sedimentation and other pollution from surrounding land use. Working in Wetlands provides land owners and managers with tools and resources to conserve, restore, protect, and manage wetlands and all of the ecological functions they provide across Colorado's diverse landscapes.
