Who comes first, the plants or the people? :: Essays Papers

Who comes first, the plants or the people? What does come first? Should people be asked to give up something or be denied something? Or should people be allowed to develop where they please? Often when people take on an endeavor their first thoughts are about how they can benefit right now, especially in terms of money, and they are not focused on the long-term effects of what they are doing. Although this is not the case in every situation, the incidences in which it is can have a negative impact on the environment, in particular, damage the wetlands. According the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) there was estimated to be over 220 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states during the 1600s and in 1997 there were only 105.5 million acres of wetlands remaining (2003). From 1986 to 1997 58,500 acres of wetland were lost each year (EPA 2003). The study during 1986 to 1997 also showed the causes of wetland losses in the United States were due to urban development (30%), agriculture (26%), silviculture (23%), and rural development (21%) (US Fish & Wildlife 2003). Wetlands are found throughout the United States and there are many different types of wetlands and these environmental structures provide a number of valuable functions in the communities in which they reside. There are some protection measures present for these wonderments and measures to help the communities protect them. However, there are still those that question the value of them. The numerous valuable functions of the varying types of wetlands throughout the United States is one group of â€Å"plants† that should be preserved and come before â€Å"people.† What are wetlands? In the United States there is a wide variety of wetlands due to the varying climates, land structure, species occupying the terrain, and other factors, such as human disturbance. The EPA defines wetlands as an area of land that is saturated with water, on or near the surface, and the water amount determines the plants and animals that are found in that community (2003). The Clean Water Act also provides a definition of wetlands as â€Å"those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support †¦ a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions† (EPA 2003). From these definitions wetlands can be grouped into four basic types: marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens.