What value wetlands?

Excerpt

ONE need only read the works of conservationists and naturalists to appreciate the aesthetic values of wetlands. Of course, wetlands do not provide the same aesthetic impact as do many other natural areas, perhaps because they lack broad vistas and dramatic landscapes. But they do provide natural beauty, albeit beauty that takes an appreciative eye.

One observer (8) puts it this way: “Wetlands are not conventional wild areas. They do not cater to established, classical concepts of vista, horizon, and landscape…They force you inward, both upon yourself and upon the nonhuman world. They do not give you grand views; they humble you rather than reinforce your delusions of grandeur…In a wetland you do not stand tall.' If you are to stand at all, you need to search for semi-firm ground, and you do not expect to find firm ground as a matter of course. When you move, you move slowly, tentatively, each step an exploration in its own right. You wait for things to come to you, rather than setting off to ‘find out what's over the next ridge’.”

Much of the recreational value of wetlands derives from …