Protecting wetlands

Wetland ecosystems provide significant benefits to fish, wildlife, and the economy. Approximately 60 percent of Tennessee’s wetlands have been destroyed due to historic mismanagement of these critical habitats. Tennessee Wildlife Federation works to restore wetland habitats statewide.

Why Wetlands?

60%

of Tennessee’s wetlands have been destroyed.

Flood

control

Wetlands act as natural sponges that trap and slowly release flood waters.

20%

of rare species use wetlands at some point in their life.

Yellow-crowned night heron walking through wetland

Wetlands provide critical habitat for numerous wildlife and plant species.

Bottomland hardwood forests are the most common type of wetlands in Tennessee and are abundant in the floodplains of streams and rivers.

Wetland ecosystems are often undervalued and underappreciated despite providing significant economic and ecological benefits. They help reduce damage from flooding, maintain water quality, replenish groundwater, store carbon, and provide important wildlife habitat. Wetlands also filter out sediment and chemicals from surface-water runoff.

Approximately one million acres of Tennessee’s wetlands have been destroyed due to historic land uses, impoundment, sedimentation, and urbanization. Restoring degraded wetlands and protecting existing wetlands—and the wildlife and plants that use them—is critical.

What we do for wetlands

1,000

acres

of wetlands restored or conserved.

Permanent

Wetlands restored by Tennessee Wildlife Federation are permanently protected with conservation easements.

5

years

of monitoring to measure success and long-term viability of restored wetlands.

Are you a landowner?

You could benefit from the Federation's decades of experience in habitat restoration.

Interested in learning if your land is a fit for habitat restoration?

Tell us more

Give

Donate to support wild Tennessee and our great outdoors.

Your generosity helps manage wildlife populations and restore habitats for a more vibrant Tennessee.

give now

More Habitat Restoration

Reviving Tennessee: Cane Creek

In 2017, Tennessee Wildlife Federation began its first wetland restoration project—a 12 acre site in the Cane Creek watershed in Putnam County. As of 2024, the site has undergone an amazing transformation and is now permanently protected under a conservation easement.

Habitats We Restore

Tennessee Wildlife Federation works with private landowners and public agencies to conserve and restore the four major habitat types in Tennessee: forests, grasslands, rivers, and wetlands.