Although many wetlands in National Park System units are in essentially pristine condition, others have been damaged by drainage, pollution, diking, filling, and related activities. In 1991, the Water Resources Division of the National Park Service initiated a program designed to enhance its wetland protection, restoration, inventory, applied research, and education.The program to enhance wetland protection upholds the National Park Service Mission: To conserve the scenery, the natural and historic objects, and the wildlife in national parks, and to provide for the public''s enjoyment of these features in a manner that will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

Since the National Park Service (NPS) was established in 1916, Congress has included millions of acres of wetlands in the National Park System. These wetlands provided the special protection inherent in the NPS mission. Unfortunately, many wetland areas enter the System in a non-pristine state or are adversely affected by activities like sewage treatment or drainage operations. As a result, it is not always enough to simply "let nature take its course." The NPS must often play an active role in wetlands management, restoration, and public awareness.Protection and Management
The NPS has a multi-faceted program for protecting and managing its wetland resources:

• NPS Wetlands Protection Guidelines require the identification, mapping, protection, management, and restoration of wetlands in the parks.
• Park wetlands are protected from pollution through proper design of park facilities and by working with states to set the highest possible water quality standards for park waters.
• The NPS Water Resources Division has established a wetlands protection program, providing technical expertise and funding to parks for wetland inventory and restoration projects.
• The NPS uses up-to-date management techniques to preserve wetland functions and values. For example, in Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada, removal of non-native plants allows native wetland species to flourish. In Everglades National Park in Florida, prescribed burning in certain wetland areas mimics natural fire regimes, sustaining the wetlands'' natural processes while maintaining visitor safety.
• The amount of water needed to preserve wetlands in parks may be maintained through protection or acquisition of water rights. For example, at Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Colorado, the NPS claimed and was awarded a water right to the flow of a spring. The spring supports riparian resources used by park wildlife.

The NPS plays key roles in other local, state, and federal government wetlands-related programs, including the Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, and the preparation of State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans.

Research and Restoration.
The NPS conducts research to determine how to protect and restore wetlands. For example:

• At Everglades National Park, results of wildlife, hydrology, plant ecology, and marine science research support a massive project to protect and restore over 500,000 acres of critical tidal and non-tidal wetlands.
• Researchers at Dinosaur National Monument on the Utah-Colorado border are restoring a valuable riparian wetland habitat that had been ditched for irrigation.
• Reintroduction of natural tidal flows at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts will restore an important salt marsh ecosystem and permit the return of fish, shellfish, and shorebird populations.
• Riparian wetlands disturbed by gold placer-mining are being restored in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

Other NPS wetlands restoration projects include restoring the Turner River wetland system in the Big Cypress National Preserve, re-establishing tidal freshwater marsh vegetation at Kenilworth Marsh in Washington, D.C., and restoring water levels in the Great Marsh at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Interpretation and Education.
The NPS plays an important role in boosting public awareness about wetlands by providing recreational opportunities, interpretive programs (nature walks and other natural history presentations), and public outreach programs.Trails and boardwalks in wetland areas at Assateague Island National Seashore, Yellowstone National Park, Olympic National Park, Death Valley National Monument, Gateway National Recreation Area, and many other parks provide unique opportunities for visitors to get a close-up look at wetland wildlife and vegetation. Many parks also have formal wetland interpretation programs, where naturalists offer insights into the complex but fascinating world of wetland ecology.

Some parks have even broader public education/outreach programs. Everglades National Park offers a community outreach program that brings school groups from south Florida to visit the park and learn first-hand about wetlands. Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts conducts both school and public wetland programs. They include canoe and wading trips that explore the effects of water quality on aquatic life and how individuals can help protect our nation''s wetlands.

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