Thirty percent of Delaware is covered by wetlands, with over 350,000 acres inventoried. Tidal wetlands represent about one third of the State's wetlands while non-tidal wetlands comprise the remainder. Delaware may have lost as much as 54% of its wetlands since the 1780’s.
Human impacts:
- Filling for commercial, industrial, and residential development
- Disposal of dredged material and garbage (e.g., sanitary landfills)
- Dredging for navigation and marinas
- Conversion to cropland or pasture
- Conversion of natural wetland forests to pine plantations
- Creation of diked impoundments for water supply and wildlife management
- Pond construction
- Alteration of hydrology (e.g., drainage and channelization projects)
- Direct or indirect discharge of pollutants (e.g., oil, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals, sediment, domestic sewage, and agricultural wastes)
- Spreading invasive and/or exotic species (e.g., Phragmites and Japanese honeysuckle)
Cause of Loss:
From the early 1980s through the early 1990s, 1,900 acres of wetlands were lost. The losses were primarily comprised of non-tidal wetlands, mostly forested. The main causes of loss were identified as residential development and agriculture. *
*Source: http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/DelawareWetlands/Pages/DelawareWetlandsStatusandTrends.aspx
DNREC's Drainage Program, under the Drainage and Stormwater Section in the Division of Soil and Water, is responsible for over 45 wetland and stream restoration projects, resulting in approximately 180 acres of total restoration and habitat creation. Restoration activities are being put into practice in a variety of locations including: local schools, backyards of private landowners, marginal agricultural fields, and along Tax Ditches.