Chesapeake Bay: Wetland Status

The various wetland habitats along the nearshore and margins of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have contributed to the ecological integrity of this valuable estuarine system for thousands of years. Each habitat- tidal marches and swamps associated non-tidal wetlands, intertidal flats and submerged grass beds- as well as the entire Bay are physically and biologically open systems. They all share the benefits and the consequences of an interchange of nutrients, organic particles (detritus), living organisms, and pollutants.