Ch. 1— Summary • 5 



The results of the study are presented in this sum- 

 mary in three sections: values amd uses of wedands, 



programs and policies affecting wetland use, and 

 policy considerations and options. 



VALUES AND USES OF WETLANDS 



The Intrinsic Qualities and Ecological 

 Services Associated With Wetlands 



Some people value v^etlands for their intrinsic 

 qualities. Their primary motivation for protecting 

 wedands is simply a desire to preserve natural areas 

 for future generations, or because they are often 

 the last areas to be developed. Others value the 

 varied and abundant flora and fauna found in wet- 

 lands and the opportunities for hunting, fishing, 

 boating, and other recreational activities. While rec- 

 reational benefits can be quantified to some extent, 

 the other intrinsic values of wetlands are, for the 

 most part, intangible. For this reason, the justifica- 

 tion for protecting wetlands has often focused on 

 the importance of the ecological services or re- 

 source values that wedands provide, which are more 

 scientificailly and economically demonstrable than 

 intrinsic qualities (box A). 



The intrinsic qualities and ecological services pro- 

 vided by wetlands can vary significandy from one 

 wedand to another and from one region of the coun- 

 try to another. For example, mangrove swamps, 

 while only of marginal importance to waterfowl, 

 are very important for erosion control along the 

 Florida coast. Some wedands provide benefits that 

 are primarily local or regional in nature; other ben- 

 efits may be national or even international in scope. 

 Because of the many differences between indi- 

 vidual wetlands, the significance of their ecolog- 

 ical services and intrinsic qualities must be de- 

 termined on an individual or regional basis. 



In making such a determination, the dollar value 

 of the ecological services that wedands provide can 

 sometimes be quantified. The Corps, for instance, 

 estimated that the loss of the entire 8,422 acres of 

 wedands within the Charles River Basin in Massa- 

 chusetts would result in average annual flood dam- 

 ages of over $17 million. However, because the 

 many intrinsic qualities of wedands carmot be quan- 

 tified, it is usually difficult to place generally ac- 

 cepted dollar values on wetlands. 



Wetland Conversions 



Wetlands can provide important sites for devel- 

 opment activities such as agriculture, forestry, port 

 and harbor development, oil and gas extraction, 

 housing and urban growth, mining, and water re- 

 source development. Wedand drainage for agricul- 

 tural purposes is particularly widespread in the 

 Lower Mississippi River Valley and in some areas 

 of the Southeast. Some activities, such as peat min- 

 ing and cranberry production, can take place only 

 in wetlands or in former wetlands; other activities 

 may achieve cost savings by using wetlands rather 

 than upland areas. Some wedands lie over natural 

 resources such as oil, gas, and phosphate ore de- 

 posits. For example, unprocessed phosphate ore 

 underlying wedands in coastal areas of North Car- 

 olina may be worth several hundred thousand dol- 

 lars per acre. Although development activities 

 that affect wetlands are probably worth billions 

 of dollars annually, data were not available for 

 OTA to estimate the total net monetary values 

 of these activities as they relate to wetlands. 



Development activities that involve excava- 

 tion (or dredging), filling, clearing, draining, 

 or flooding of wetlands generally have the most 

 significant and permanent impacts on wetlands 

 and the ecological services they provide. The ex- 

 tent of these impacts varies aunong projects, depend- 

 ing on the scale and timing of the project, the type 

 of wetland affected, and many other variables. In 

 many cases, project impacts can be reduced by re- 

 designing the project or ^y modifying construction 

 timetables. 



The ability to restore significantly degraded wet- 

 lands or converted areas to their original condition 

 depends on the type of wetland and on the degree 

 to which it has been affected by natural processes 

 or by particular development activities. For exam- 

 ple, former San Francisco Bay wetlands that were 

 formerly used for ^riculture are now being restored 

 by removing manmade dikes that once separated 

 them from the Bay. It is also possible to create new 



