It"s American Wetlands Month, a time to celebrate swamps, marshes, bogs, and other types of these important ecosystems. Wetlands play a vital role in storing carbon, improving water quality, and serving as habitat for many endangered plants and animals, including American crocodiles and whooping cranes. And yet, wetlands are threatened. Over the centuries, they have been drained to provide land for farming, industry, and housing. Pollution and invasive plants pose further threats. Since the late 1700s, more than half of the 221 million acres of wetlands that once existed in the 48 contiguous states have disappeared.
American Wetlands Month
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Spotted eagle rays in the Galápagos Islands
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A long path to freedom
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It s Slovenia s Independence and Unity Day
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The Canary Islands, Spain
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Looking for peace on the precipice
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Ocean City, Maryland, at sunrise
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Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
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Black History Month
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Adorably evolutionary sea sheep
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A field of English lavender
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World Poetry Day
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Wind horses carry wishes for a new year
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International Day for Monuments and Sites
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A Welsh wonder turns 70
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Arambol Beach, Goa, India
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy
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A bridge that rocks
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Explorer of the sea
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Oh, happy day!
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Once in a pink moon
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Castelmezzano, Italy
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Getting to the bottom of the underwater waterfall
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Leap day
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Hemakuta Hill, Hampi, India
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Cherry blossom season in Tokyo
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European Day of Parks
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Ode to the sun
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World Numbat Day
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The birthplace of Cinco de Mayo