Wetlands, your soggy ground is making a comeback.

During the recent 2008 White House Conference on North American Wildlife Conservation Policy, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Vice President Dick Cheney announced that President Bush's 2004 goal of restoring, improving and protecting 3 million acres of wetlands was achieved a year ahead of schedule.

Additional incentives will be offered to landowners to enroll in state access programs with a goal of adding an additional 4 million acres of wetlands by 2013.

The incentives are part of the Conservation Reserve Program. Originally founded as a Dust Bowl-era anti-erosion program, its modern incarnation began in 1985 as farmers were encouraged to convert highly erodible cropland to tame or native grasses, wildlife plantings, or trees in return for reimbursement from the government.

Wetlands including marsh-es, bogs, swamps, wet meadows and shallow ponds help improve the quality of water and control flooding. They're not always what you might think a wetland should look like.

"Along I-80, a lot of roadway ditches have turned into [uncategorized] wetlands" said Cid Freyermuth, Section Chief in Waterways, Wetlands and Erosion Control in the state Department of Environmental Protection.

That's because in Pennsylvania, wetlands are categorized by what's growing there (shrubs, cattails or woody vegetation) rather than the amount of water. Water deeper than 18 inches is not considered regulated wetlands.

Pennsylvania boasts 403,924 acres of freshwater wetlands and has seen a net gain of wetlands since the 1980s, thanks to a strict program of replacing every acre of wetland for each acre impacted.

"They provide critical habitats for threatened and endangered species," said Freyermuth. "A common one, although it's no longer endangered, is the bald eagle."