A new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals wetlands covered less than 6 percent of the lower 48 states as of, half the area they covered since the 1780s.
The report also identifies that loss rates have increased by 50 percent since 2009 and that without additional conservation wetland loss will likely continue.
The report shows wetland loss has disproportionately impacted vegetated wetlands like marshes and swamps and the declines were particularly prevalent in the coastal watersheds of the Carolinas.
Some wetland loss was associated with development, upland planted forest, and agriculture, but other likely contributors were climate change and sea level rise, especially along the coasts.
To read the full report, visit https://www.fws.gov/project/2019-wetlands-status-and-trends-report.
