What are Wetlands?
Wetlands
play a vital role in the health and stability of our environment and
are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines wetlands as “lands
where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the
nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities
living in the soil and on its surface.”
According
to the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that when
Europeans first arrived in North America, wetlands occupied more than
220 million acres in the area that now make up the lower 48 states. By 1980, wetlands occupied less than half that.
Because
wetlands are such essential ecological features in our landscapes,
regulations under the Clean Water Act have been passed to protect our
wetland areas.
Protecting Our Wetlands
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the current rate of wetland loss to be about 290,000 acres per year. In 1977, President Carter issued Executive Order 11990 which required agencies of the Federal Government to "minimize the destruction, loss or degradation of wetlands" and to "avoid direct and indirect support of new construction in wetlands wherever there is a practicable alternative." This change in federal policy has led to a number of regulations which affect the use of wetlands in the United States.
Wetland
Mitigation provides one avenue for preserving wetland areas by
requiring developers to purchase "credits" when developing an area that
will negatively impact a designated wetland. A project may require a
certain number of credits before building permits can even be issued.
The purpose of mitigation is to ensure that when one wetland area is
altered, another wetland area is enhanced and preserved, thus ensuring
"no net loss" of our country's wetland areas. |
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