Experts fear half of the 290 million wetland acres have lost federal protection and could be at risk from developers.

Often dismissed as dismal wet bogs and rampantly cleared since European arrival in the US, the underappreciated importance of wetlands has been placed into sharp relief by a supreme court ruling that has plunged many of these ecosystems into new peril.

Wetlands received federal protection under the 1972 Clean Water Act but the future of many of these remaining ecosystems, which span 290m acres, or about twice the size of France, is now in jeopardy following the supreme court’s decision in May to severely narrow the scope of what is protected.

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