Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management

Wetlands are ubiquitous. Collectively they cover 370,000 square miles in the United States and globally encompass more than five million square miles. Most points on a map are less than one kilometer from the nearest wetland. Yet wetlands are nearly invisible to most people. In this course we explore wetlands in all of their dimensions, including the critical services they provide to other systems, the rich biodiversity they harbor, and their impact on global climate. Additionally, wetlands are linchpin environments for scientific policy and regulation. The overarching aim of the course is to connect what we know about wetlands from a scientific perspective to the ways in which wetlands matter for people.