Ch. 5— Wetland Trends • 113 



an estimated 70 million acres of wetlands, the ex- 

 tent that wetland acreage will be used to meet this 

 demand cannot be estimated readily. 



Regardless of the availability of nonwetlands to 

 meet future needs for cropland, demand for wetland 

 conversions may well continue as a result of shift- 

 ing the production of certain crops to different re- 

 gions of the country. For example, estimates have 

 been made that soybean production on existing 

 cropland can be increased up to 21.5 percent in 

 Louisiana and Mississippi without any environ- 

 mental damage; destruction of scenic, recreation, 

 and wildlife areas; lowered water tables; or water- 

 quality degradation associated with conversions. Ir- 

 rigation and precision land-forming would be re- 

 quired to make these improvements in production, 

 and these techniques are being implemented on a 

 fairly large scale. On the other hand, increased pro- 

 duction costs of cotton in the West and Southwest 



associated with irrigation requirements and im- 

 provements in pest control may revitalize the cot- 

 ton industry in the Southeast and in the Lower 

 Mississippi River Valley, where cotton grows well 

 on converted bottom lands with high organic 

 matter. 



Since data from the last 10 years are insufficient 

 to provide an accurate estimate of current conver- 

 sions of wetlands to agricultural use, future projec- 

 tions of wetland conversion rates cannot be made. 

 However, without restrictions on conversions, it can 

 be expected that wetlands probably will continue 

 to be converted for agricultural use. Production on 

 newly converted wetlands may have little impact 

 on the national need for about 400 million acres 

 of cropland over the next 20 years or even on re- 

 gional incomes from farming. However, it may well 

 make a difference for individual farmers. 



CHAPTER 5 REFERENCES 



1. Center for Governmental Responsibility, "Wet- 

 lands Loss in South Florida and the Implementa- 

 tion of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act," Uni- 

 versity of Florida, College of Law, contract study 

 for OTA, September 1982, p. 25. 



2. Center for Wetland Resources, "Wetland Trends 

 and Factors Influencing Wetland Use in the Area 

 Influenced by the Lower Mississippi River: A Case 

 Study," Louisiana State University, contract study 

 for OTA, September 1982, p. 1-28. 



3. Council on Environmental Quality, "Our Nation's 

 Wetlands: An Interagency Task Force Report" 

 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Of- 

 fice, 041-011-0004509, 1978). 



4. Council on Environmental Quality, "National Ag- 

 ricultural Lands Study, Final Report," U.S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, 1981. 



5. Davis, B., "Economic Potential for Converting 

 Woodland and Pasture to Cropland: Lower Missis- 

 sippi Valley and Southeast," Economic Research 

 Service, USDA ERS-495, Washington, D.C, 1972, 

 cited in MacDonald, 1979, p. 56. 



6. Department of Agricultural Economics, "Wedands 

 in the Prairie Pothole Region of Minnesota, North 

 Dakota, and South Dakota — Trends and Issues," 

 North Dakota State University, contract study for 

 OTA, August 1982. 



7. ESA/Madrone, "Wedands Policy Assessment: Cali- 

 fornia Case Study," contract study for OTA, Sep- 

 tember 1982, pp. 26-63. 



8. Frayer, W. E., Monahan, T. J., Bowden, D. C, 

 and GrayhiU, F. A., "Status and Trends of Wet- 

 lands and Deepwater Habitats in the Coterminous 

 United States, 1950's to 1970's," Department of 

 Forest and Wood Services, Colorado State Univer- 

 sity, Fort Collins, Colo., 1983, p. 31. 



9. Great Plains Office of Policy Studies, "Wedand 

 Trends and Protection Programs in Nebraska," 

 University nf Nebraska, contract study for OTA, 

 September 1982. 



10. MacDonald, P. O., Frayer, W. E., and Clauser, 

 J. K., "Documenting Chronology, and Future Pro- 

 jections of Bottom Land Hardwood Habitat Loss 

 in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Plain," Ecological 

 Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1979, p. 

 133. 



11. Pavelis, G. A., "Farm Drainage in the United 

 States, 1900 to 1980: Acreage, Investment and Cap- 

 ital Values," unpublished draft, 1982. 



12. Pavelis, G. A., personal communication. 



13. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 

 "Wetland Trends and Policies in North and South 

 Carolina," Duke University, contract study for 

 OTA, August 1982. 



