Two new Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance, were designated in the United States this week!
Excerpted from the Ramsar Release:
Congaree National Park in South Carolina is a mosaic of freshwater swamp forests, seasonal sloughs, forested peatlands, permanent and seasonal creeks, permanent freshwater lakes, and shrub-dominated wetlands, containing the largest remaining example of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in North America.
The site is an important over-wintering area for large numbers of temperate migrants and year-round residents. One winter census documented over 2,000 birds per 101ha, one of the highest wintering bird densities reported in the United States. It supports 56 species of fish, or almost 40% of the freshwater fish species known to exist in South Carolina.
The second new site, The Emiquon Complex is a combination of comprises three existing protected areas, the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, the Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, and Emiquon Preserve that are owned US Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy. The complex lies within the former natural floodplain of the Illinois River, and as in other large-floodplain river systems, the dynamic relationship between the river and its floodplain creates a diversity of habitats including bottomland lakes, side channels, sloughs, marsh, bottomland hardwood forests, and wet, mesic and dry prairies.
