Ch. 1— Summary • 13 



Administration Policies 



The administration's goals with respect to wet- 

 lands are unclear. On the one hand, the Corps has 

 revised its administrative procedures for the 404 

 program to reduce the regulatory burden on indus- 

 try and to increase the role of the States. Some of 

 these changes may have reduced the level of wet- 

 lands protection provided by 404, although there 

 will never be quantitative data to support this or 

 any other statement made about the effects of these 

 programmatic changes on wetlands. Administra- 

 tion support for State coastal management pro- 

 grams also has been reduced significantly, and no 

 funds have been requested in the past 3 years for 

 wedand acquisition. On the other hand, the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior proposed a bill. Protect Our 

 Wetlands and Duck Resources Act (POWDR), to 

 eliminate some Federal expenditures for some wet- 

 land activities, increase funding to States for wet- 

 land conservation, extend the Wetlands Loan Act 

 for 10 years, and increase revenues for wedand ac- 

 quisition through additional fees for duck stamps 

 and wildlife refuge visitation permits. 



State Wetland Programs 



Almost all 30 coastal States (including those 

 bordering the Great Lakes) have programs that 

 directly or indirectly regulate the use of their 

 coastal wetlands. Most inland States do not have 

 specific wetland programs. Through a combina- 

 tion of the 404 program and State programs, 

 most coastal wetlands are regulated reasonably 

 well; inland wetlands, which comprise 95 per- 

 cent of the Nation's wetlands, generally are not 

 regulated by States. 



Developers often object to the apparent duplica- 

 tion between the 404 prograun and State regulatory 

 programs. However, representatives from most 



States with wetland programs believe that the 

 404 program and State regulatory programs 

 complement one another. Corps districts often let 

 State agencies take the lead in protecting wedands, 

 using the 404 program to support their efforts. If 

 certain EPA requirements are met, States can as- 

 sume the legal responsibility for administering that 

 portion of the 404 program covering waters that 

 are not traditionally navigable. Twelve States have 

 evaluated or are evaluating this possibility, and four 

 are administering pilot programs to gain practical 

 experience prior to possible program assumption. 

 Michigan is the only State that has applied for 404 

 program assumption. In general, most States have 

 neither the capability nor the desire to assume 

 sole responsibility for regulating wetland use 

 without additional resources from the Federal 

 Government; some States would be reluctant to 

 do so even with government support. 



Local Wetland Programs 



In some areas of the country, the principal means 

 of wetland protection outside of the 404 program 

 comes from local regulations (including zoning con- 

 trols) and acquisition programs. 



Private Initiatives 



Private organizations, such as the Nature Con- 

 servancy, the Audubon Society, and Ducks Unlim- 

 ited, have protected thousands of acres of wetlands 

 through direct acquisition, partial interest, and 

 other means. For example, the Richard King Mel- 

 lon Foundation recently gave the Nature Conser- 

 vancy a $25 million grant toward its efforts to con- 

 serve wetland ecosystems in the United States. 

 Other national environmental organizations and 

 hundreds of local or regional organizations, includ- 

 ing fish and game clubs, have also been active in 

 protecting wetlands. 



POLICY CONSIDERATIONS AND OPTIONS 



Policy Considerations 



Controversy over the 404 program has led to 

 much discussion of different ways of changing the 



Federal involvement in controlling the use of wet- 

 lands. Decisions about the use of wetlands are not 

 usually simple and straightforward, but involve 

 judgments about: 



