Chapter 3 



Encroachments on Wetlands 



A review of the comments received on the status of the individual in- 

 land wetlands, state by state, gives an alarming picture of their destruc- 

 tion or modification on a national scale. Although the details may be 

 found in the inventory and are summarized for each state, the follow- 

 ing generalized overview of the nature of these encroachments may be 

 of interest. 



Within the eastern megalopolis lying between Portland, Maine, and 

 Norfolk, Virginia, and within the vicinity of other large metropolitan 

 centers scattered throughout the country, a multiplicity of activities 

 place the wetlands in jeopardy. These are well exemplified on the Troy 

 Meadows in New Jersey and the Tinicum Marshes on the outskirts of 

 Philadelphia. They include dumps and sanitary land-fill operations, 

 rights-of-way for power, telephone, and gas transmission lines, highway 

 construction, draining and filling for shopping centers, airports, facto- 

 ries and housing developments, and pollution by sewage and industrial 

 wastes. Real estate values have escalated to fantastic figures, in some 

 instances to over $100,000 per acre. 



Around the periphery of the urban centers other activities take place 

 that are directly attributable to the needs of the population. These in- 

 clude flooding of valleys in the development of metropolitan water 

 supplies and for hydroelectric and pump-storage facilities for power 

 companies. Dredging and filling of wetlands for marinas, recreational 

 facilities, and housing also take their toll. 



