What is a wetland?

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the US Environmental Protection Agency define wetlands as follows: Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands are areas that generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

Wetlands are areas that are covered by water or have waterlogged soils for long periods (14-21 days) during the growing season. Plants growing in wetlands are capable of living in saturated soil conditions for at least part of the growing season. Wetlands such as swamps and marshes are often obvious, but some wetlands are not easily recognized, often because they are dry during part of the year or "they just don't look very wet" from the roadside.

Some of these wetland types include, but are not limited to, many bottomland forests, pocosins, pine savannahs, bogs, wet meadows, potholes, and wet tundra. Information is given here to help you determine if you have a wetland. If you intend to place dredged or fill material in a wetland or in an area that might be a wetland, contact the local Corps District Office to see if a permit is required.

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