Most of us have a pretty good idea what a wetland is, even though we may not be able to provide a precise definition if asked. Wetlands are wet. That’s a simple way to put it. Most wetlands are at least soggy if not brimming with standing water for much of the year. If you are standing in one, your feet are most likely getting a good soaking unless you have rubber boots on, but this is not always the case. Some wetlands like vernal pools and ephemeral woodland ponds where many salamanders, frogs and turtles spend a good portion of the spring, typically dry out in summer and may or may not fill up again in the fall. Many of our forested wetlands and floodplain swamps are relatively dry for much of the year as well.

The one constant about wetlands is that they are always changing. The words of naturalist John Burroughs ring especially true for wetlands, “if you want an adventure in nature, take the same walk that you took yesterday, and do so again tomorrow.” If you want to see something new today, go back to the same wetland you visited yesterday. Visiting a wetland from week to week and season to season you will observe many different “personality traits” of the wetland that makes up its overall character. From changing degrees of sogginess, to the many different kinds of plants that flower in different seasons, to the sorts of animals that are likely to be breeding, scrounging for food or hibernating there. The variable nature wetlands makes them especially interesting places to visit throughout the year, but also particularly tricky to pin down with a precise definition.