CLASSIFICATION OF WETLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES 
PERSPECTIVE 
Wetlands have generally been regarded as liabilities rather 
than assets. In particular, the average farmer or engineer has viewed 
them as obstacles to agricultural or industrial development; this opinion 
prevailed during the past century, while marshes, swamps, and other wet 
areas were being drained on a wholesale scale. 
Recently, public attitude has begun to change. Now that a 
large share of such supposedly waste land has been drained, and now that 
disastrous drouths and floods are setting new records, the importance of 
wetlands to the national economy is becoming apparent. It is becoming 
evident also that further drainage of marshland habitat poses a serious 
threat to a game resource which now provides healthful recreation to 
millions of Americans. All of this points to the need for a stocktaking 
of the country's remaining wetland resources. The classification, 
description, and evaluation of wetlands outlined here are intended as 
aids in this direction. 
As construed here, wetlands involve wide variations in extent 
or duration of wetness. At one extreme are basins or flats that undergo 
submergence seasonally but are well drained much of the summer (Type 1). 
Other types include lands that are waterlogged or flooded during the 
growing season or at all times (Types 2 - 20). 
VALUZS OF WETLANDS 
Instead of being waste areas, wetlands are productive in various 
ways, as follows: 
Most wetlands are valuable for -- 
(1) Storing groundwater essential to the Nation's agriculture 
and to domestic and industrial needs. 
(2) Stabilizing surface waters to alleviate danger of drouths 
and floods. 
(3) Producing wildlife, particularly fish, waterfowl, and 
furbearers that contribute to the Nation's economy 
and recreation. 
