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Our Opinion: Voters, know your rights and don’t shirk your responsibility

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Throat-slashing suspect’s attorneys challenge evidence

<p>Recently, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump started to use the phrase &#8220;draining the swamp&#8221; to represent his desire to rid Washington, D.C., of the corruption that he believes permeates the federal government.</p><p>Ironically, that phrase &#8211; if taken literally &#8211; advocates an activity that is now illegal in Pennsylvania and many places throughout the country.</p><p>Swamps are defined as one category of wetland, with others including marshes and bogs. Before the 1960s, swamps were perceived as dank, foreboding, disease-ridden places where evil lurked. In those days, swamps and other wetlands were routinely drained or filled to make them more &#8220;productive.&#8221; The U.S. has lost more than 50 percent of its wetland acreage since Colonial times, according to the US Geological Survey.</p><p>Research conducted over the past 50 years has shown that swamps and other wetlands actually provide considerable value to people. For example, the spongy soils of wetlands prevent downstream flooding during periods of heavy rainfall and snowmelt. Wetland soils also do a great job of cleaning polluted water.</p><p>Further, many species of animals and plants thrive in wetland conditions &#8211; and wetlands thus provide prized habitat value. And anybody who has been to Tannersville Bog, or even the Everglades National Park, can appreciate the recreational value that wetlands serve.</p><p>For those reasons, a more enlightened view holds that swamps and other wetlands have significant inherent value &#8211; and are thus worth preserving. Federal and state laws enacted in the 1970s prevent the destruction of wetlands either through filling or draining. Developers and property owners who ignore those statutes are subject to fines and costs of rehabilitating those valuable ecosystems.</p><p>So while Mr. Trump might wish to clean up corruption in the federal government as he sees it, he should use a more appropriate metaphor &#8211; and one that doesn&#8217;t denote an old way of thinking.</p><p><strong>Kenneth M. Klemow</strong></p><p>Biology Department</p><p>Wilkes University</p><p>Wilkes-Barre</p><style>
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Letter to the Editor: Donald Trump should retire language about draining swamps; wetlands deserve better