Jul 8: A new report by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) illustrates how gaps in state and Federal policy threaten Great Lakes wetlands. Marc Smith, state policy manager for NWF's Great Lakes Regional Center said, “Great Lakes wetlands remain threatened. States play a vital role in protecting our wetlands, water quality and economy -- and this report illustrates that they can be doing more. Successful restoration of our Great Lakes depends on the protection and restoration of the region’s wetlands.”
The report examines state wetland policies in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It assesses how well each state is protecting wetlands, identifies the barriers to better protection, and offers recommendations for improvement. According to the report, state efforts to protect and restore wetlands are hampered by incomplete wetland inventories, inadequate staffing, insufficient public engagement, and a lack of priorities to protect and restore wetlands.
Gaps in state law also undermine protection efforts. Exemptions which allow for the destruction of wetlands are generally not tracked by state agencies. Further, the quality of wetland mitigation projects is not often tracked, allowing for the destruction of high quality wetlands that are replaced with wetlands of less value to people and wildlife. The report notes that one acre of wetlands provides $10,573 of ecosystem services, according to recent estimates. Great Lakes wetlands are threatened by development. The region has lost more than 50 percent of its historic wetlands. Some coastal areas have lost more than 95 percent of wetlands.
Access a release with comments from the states (click here). Access links to the complete 114-page report and a summary (click here).
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