Abstract
The present US Federal wetland management strategy under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act does not account for the differences in the natural values of wetlands and their different vulnerability to development pressure. The strategy, aimed at reducing the regulatory burden, provides for different levels of wetland protection, primarily by designating certain activities in or affecting wetlands as essentially harmless, having only minor impacts even when considered for their cumulative effects. Such activities are authorized under general permits precluding any evaluation of project impacts. A sounder, yet practical, rationale for wetland management and regulatory relief should be linked to the scarcity of certain wetland habitats, the habitat diversity or carrying capacity, the degree of degradation from past development, and the incremental losses already incurred within the same wetland ecosystem. The regulatory effort should be concentrated where these characteristics indicate high-value wetlands.
Wetland impacts appear to fit into five basic orders of magnitude; these pertain to the relative cost and difficulty of impact mitigation. Up to 13 ecological and public-interest variables can modify the seriousness of the basic impact. Together, the basic orders of impact and modifying variables describe the theoretical framework for wetland management. However, a practical rationale for better wetland management must be constrained to factors not requiring a field investigation in advance of project planning for construction and development.
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This article was produced in part from work funded by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the United States Congress for use in its study, “Wetlands: Their Use and Regulation.” The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of OTA.
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Nelson, R.W., Weller, E.C. A better rationale for wetland management. Environmental Management 8, 295–307 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01868029
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01868029