Are there rare and endangered species that rely upon wetlands?
Researchers estimate that about 30 plant species have been extirpated, that is totally eliminated, from Maine since European settlement. Yet Maine wetlands are treasure troves of many rare plants, including some that botanists once thought extirpated. Studies of bogs during the 1970s and 1980s, for example, resulted in the discovery of abundant collections of rare orchids that live only in rich wetland habitat. Similarly, certain wetland types are vital to endangered wildlife, including shore birds like the piping plover which nests in coastal wetlands and raptors like the bald eagle which feed in both marine and freshwater wetlands.
