20 • Wetlands: Their Use and Regulation 



determine wetland status. Local authorities use this 

 plan to control the conversion of wetlands under 

 a genercd permit from the Corps. 



Categorizing wetlands would involve weighing 

 and integrating the values of different ecological 

 services within a political rather than strictly scien- 

 tific framework. Therefore, categorization could 

 best be accomplished by Federal policymakers from 

 an interagency working group in cooperation with 

 regional groups composed of State and local offi- 

 cials, wedand scientists, developers, and the general 

 public who would be familiar with wetland values 

 in their respective physiographic regions or river 

 basins. This process also would involve regional 

 public hearings. 



Step 3: Tailor existing policies and pro- 

 grams. — After categorizing the wetlands in a cer- 

 tain region. Federal, State, or local wedand policies 

 and programs would then be selectively applied by 

 program administrators according to the relative 

 values of different wetlands, as well as the values 

 £ind impacts of potential development activities. For 

 example, wedands covered by the 404 program, de- 

 pending on their natural values, could be individ- 

 u£illy regulated, covered by general permits, or left 

 unregulated. For wetlands that are individually reg- 

 ulated, the procedures used to review permits and 

 mitigate impacts could reflect the relative values 

 of the wetlands, as well as the type, size, and ben- 

 efits associated with development activities. Acqui- 

 sition and leasing programs could be easily focused 

 on high- value wedands identified by the inventory. 



The tailoring process would not be designed to 

 disallow all further wetland conversions. Instead, 

 the inventory zuid categorization of wedands would 

 provide a management tool for program adminis- 

 trators, developers, and policymakers in making 

 decisions about the use of wetlands based on their 

 relative values. All wetlands in the United States 

 would not have to be mapped prior to the tailor- 

 ing of policies; tailoring would be accomplished as 

 the different regions are mapped. The highest pri- 

 ority could be placed on those areas where many 

 important wetlands are located and/or where con- 

 version pressures are greatest. 



Step 4: Integrate wetland policies and pro- 

 grams. — Step four would first involve increasing 

 the scope of existing wedand policies and programs 



to include the fuU range of natural wetland values. 

 For example, acquisition and leasing programs, 

 which now focus primarily on protecting habitats 

 with high wildlife values, could be given program- 

 matic flexibility by Congress to consider all wedsuid 

 values. USDA's Water Bank Program for leasing 

 waterfowl habitat in agricultural regions could be 

 broadened to allow leasing of inland wedands with 

 a range of ecological values in both agricultural and 

 nonagricultural areas. 



If Congress increased the scope of different 

 wetland programs, the interagency and regional 

 groups organized in step 2 could select the most 

 appropriate policies or programs for managing dif- 

 ferent wedand areas — whether through acquisition, 

 easements, or regulation. For example, unde- 

 graded, high-value wedands could be given a higher 

 level of protection than they now have through di- 

 rect acquisition or easements rather than regula- 

 tion. Combinations of different policies might also 

 be used for some wetlands. For example, if certain 

 kinds of development activities on a privately owned 

 wetland were prohibited within the framework of 

 Federal or State regulations, the owner might be 

 given the option to sell the wetland or an easement 

 to the Federal or State Government. 



If Congress wished to develop such an integrated 

 approach, the gaps in policy-related information 

 (discussed under issue 2) must be filled. Also, to 

 ensure that all ongoing activities are relevant both 

 to the missions of the involved Federal agencies £ind 

 to the policymaking process in general, an inte- 

 grated and detailed work plan could be developed 

 by the interagency working group. In this way, the 

 Federal Government could take advantage of the 

 collective expertise and interests of the different 

 Federal agencies that deal with wedands. This plan 

 should include a description of ongoing and planned 

 activities, agency responsibilities, coordination pro- 

 cedures, funding requirements, and opportunities 

 for congressional oversight. Above all, the plan 

 would describe in detail the processes that would 

 be used to tailor and integrate wetland policies and 

 programs. This plan, which could be developed 

 over a 2-year period at a cost this study estimates 

 to be about $1 million, could provide an overall 

 framework for wedzuid policymaking that would be 

 stable over several administrations. The develop- 

 ment and implementation of such a plan would re- 



