Wetlands: Nature's Filters

beaver
© William H. Mullins

Next time you pour yourself a glass of drinking water, imagine this:

Your glass of water is filled not with clear liquid but rather with silt, toxic chemicals and bacteria. One sip, and you'll probably be spending the night getting to know your bathroom, or, quite likely, your local hospital.

Unfiltered water is not necessarily a pleasant thought.

Wetlands--those low-lying wet areas that are often called swamps or marshes--serve as nature's water filters. The clean water in our rivers and streams that we all rely on is kept clean by these wetlands. As sediments, toxic chemicals and other substances drain into the wetland, they are filtered by the plants and settle into the soil rather into rivers and streams.

The Nature Conservancy is working with people like you to ensure that Idaho continues to have thriving wetlands that can provide clean water and wildlife habitat for future generations.

At our Ball Creek Ranch Preserve in the Kootenai River Valley, at Cougar Bay, at Silver Creek and at Thousand Springs, we have restored wetlands to areas where they had disappeared.

As part of our five-year goal, The Nature Conservancy is embarking on ambitious plan to restore wetlands to important areas around the state. With your help, we can protect the Idaho we love: flocks of ducks and geese, grazing moose and industrious beavers, and that most basic of human needs, clean water.