Ch. 1— Summary • 19 



Issue 3: Should the Federal Government develop a 

 more integrated approach for managing 

 wetlands? 



About 5 percent of the lower 48 States, or about 

 90 million acres, is covered by wetlands. These wet- 

 lands are geographically dispersed and their relative 

 abundance varies from region to region. In some 

 regions, wedands provide important ecological serv- 

 ices; in other regions, their values are primarily in- 

 trinsic (e.g., wilderness, esthetic, recreation, etc.). 

 Wetlands of widely different value can be found 

 in the same regions. Due to the inherent variabili- 

 ty among wetland values, their wide and variable 

 distribution, and the large number of conversion 

 activities (i.e., a few tens of thousands) that are pro- 

 posed each year, the use of wetlands is difficult 

 to manage. , 



Federal wetland programs generally deal with 

 wetlands in a piecemeal manner; that is, each 

 program generally focuses on certain ecological 

 services, wetland types, and/or geographic areas. 

 For example, FWS acquisition and easement pro- 

 grams focus mainly on protecting wedands (and up- 

 land areas) that are important for wildlife. How- 

 ever, many wetlands that provide other ecological 

 services, such as flood control, might also warrant 

 acquisition. USDA's Water Bank Program leases 

 valuable waterfowl nesting and breeding habitat in 

 prime agricultural areas of the country. Leasing of 

 nonagricultural areas to protect other ecological 

 services is not within the scope of this program. 



An integrated approach for managing wetlands 

 could be considered. 



Option 1: Yes, an integrated approach for manag- 

 ing wetlands use should be developed. 



This integrated approach would involve "tailor- 

 ing" or adjusting existing acquisition, leasing, or 

 regulatory policies on a regional basis to wetlands 

 of different values and to different development ac- 

 tivities prior to possible wedand conversion. 



Developing an integrated approach to wetlands 

 management would involve four sequential steps. 

 First, the FWS's ongoing inventory of wetlands 

 would be continued or accelerated. Second, the wet- 

 lands in an inventoried region would be categorized 

 according to their relative values. Third, existing 

 wedand policies and programs would be "tailored" 

 or adjusted according to their category and specific 



characteristics. For example, higher value wetlands 

 covered by 404 could be stringently regulated 

 through individual permits; lower value wetlands 

 could be covered by less stringent general permits. 

 Fourth, different Federal, State, or local programs 

 could be applied to different wedand categories and 

 types of development activities in a more integrated 

 fashion . 



This approach has several advantages. High-val- 

 ue wetlands with different ecological services could 

 be given an appropriate level of protection. Agen- 

 cy funding and personnel could be focused on high- 

 value wetlands in different regions of the country 

 rather than all wetlands in general or wetlands that 

 provide a single ecological service. Regulators, de- 

 velopers, and the public would be aware of the sta- 

 tus of the wetlands in their particular areas prior 

 to any proposals to convert them to other uses. De- 

 velopers also would have prior knowledge about 

 standards and requirements for converting specific 

 wetland areas. The time required for processing 

 most 404 permits would be significantly reduced. 

 Finally, decisions about wedand use would be more 

 predictable and consistent. 



The four steps involved in this approach are de- 

 scribed in more detail in the following discussion. 



Step 1: Continue or accelerate the ongoing 

 mapping of wetlands by FWS. — At this time, a 

 detailed inventory of 30 percent of the wetlands in 

 the lower 48 States and 4 percent in Alaska has been 

 completed. An additional 5 percent of the lower 48 

 States and 2 percent of Alaska can be mapped each 

 year at an annual cost of $3.5 million per year. With 

 greater funding, this inventory effort could be 

 accelerated . 



Step 2: Categorize wetlands. — Once invento- 

 ried, wedands would then be placed in three to five 

 broad categories based on the combined importance 

 of their ecologicEil services and intrinsic values. In 

 about a dozen areas in the United States, wetlands 

 have been inventoried and broadly categorized in 

 this manner. One case, the Anchorage (Alaska) 

 Wetland Plan, places wetlands in four categories: 

 preservation, which precludes any development 

 activities; conservation, which allows limited con- 

 versions with measures to mitigate impacts; devel- 

 opable, which allows complete draining and fill- 

 ing without a permit; and special study, which re- 

 quires collecting additional environmental data to 



