#12 The trail here passes along the edge of a nontidal wetland. The soil is always wet, and that prevents the growth of many plant species that do well elsewhere along the CERA Trail. Instead, the plants that grow in wetlands are adapted to water-saturated, hydric soils. In fact, the presence of these unique plants is one criterion that defines a wetland under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which protects wetlands from disruption and damage by human activity. Examples of obligate wetland plants that can be seen from here include black willow and cinnamon fern.