24 



Fig.22. Estuarine-dependent fishes, like salmon, provide the majority of the commercial fisheries landings m the United States. 



Many wetlands produce peat which is used mainly for 

 horticulture and agriculture in the United States. Over 52 

 million acres of peat deposits exist in the country. Five 

 states account for more than 75% of the peat production: 

 Michigan, Florida. Illinois, Indiana and New York (Car- 

 penter and Farmer 1981). That is particularly interesting, 

 since our largest peat reserves are in Alaska and Minneso- 

 ta (Famham 1979). For centuries, peat has been used as a 

 major fuel source in Europe. Recent shortages in other 

 fuels, particularly oil and gas, have increased attention to 

 wetlands as potential fuel sources. Unfortunately, peat 

 mining destroys wetlands and most of their associated 

 values. 



Recreation and Aesthetics 



Many recreational activities take place in and around 

 wetlands. Hunting and fishing are popular sports. Water- 

 fowl hunting is a major activity in wetlands, but big game 

 hunting is also important locally. In 1980, 5.3 million 

 people spent $638 million on hunting waterfowl and other 



migratory birds (U.S. Department of the Interior and 

 Department of Commerce 1982). Saltwater recreational 

 fishing has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, 

 with half of this catch represented by wetland-associated 

 species. Moreover, nearly all freshwater fishing is depen- 

 dent on wetlands (Figure 23). In 1975 alone, sportfisher- 

 men spent $13.1 billion to catch wetland-dependent 

 fishes (Peters, et al. 1979). 



Other recreation in wetlands is largely non-consump- 

 tive and involves activities like hiking, nature observation 

 and photography, swimming, boating, and ice-skating. 

 Many people simply enjoy the beauty and sounds of na- 

 ture and spend their leisure time walking or boating in or 

 near wetlands observing plant and animal life. The aes- 

 thetic value of wetlands is extremely difficult to evaluate 

 or place a dollar value upon. Nonetheless, it is a very 

 important one because in 1980 alone. 28.8 million people 

 (17% of the U.S. population) took special trips to ob- 

 serve, photograph or feed wildlife (Figure 24). More- 

 over, about 47% of all Americans showed an active 

 interest in wildlife around their homes (U.S. Department 

 of the Interior and Department of Commerce 1982). 



