|
|
Article: WETLANDS ESSENTIAL TO SURVIVAL OF MANY SPECIES.(Local)
- Article from:
- Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
- Article date:
- February 13, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Rocky Mountain News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Dialog LLC by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Gary Gerhardt Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Bob Hernbrode and Jim Huckabay of the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Watchable Wildlife Program contributed to this feature.
Wetlands. What good are they?
Soggy, smelly, tangled places teeming with mosquitoes, snakes and things that go ribbit in the night.
True, but that's a narrow view.
Wetlands, or riparian areas, cover less than 5% of the nation yet are sanctuary for 94 threatened or endangered animal and 29 plant species. In fact, 75% of all wild creatures depend to some degree on wetlands, the most productive ecosystems on Earth.
A wetland is a natural community ...