RECLAMATION OF WETLANDS 

 Mary C. Landin and Hanley K. Smith 



BACKGROUND 



The early colonists who came to American shores found pristine lakes and rivers, 

 virgin forests, abundant wildlife, and vast wetland areas. They immediately set about 

 to "tame" and change these lands to suit the purposes of civilization as they knew it. 

 Throughout the settlement of this nation and until very recently, wetlands were 

 considered wastelands to be converted to other more economically advantageous 

 uses. The term "reclamation of wetlands" was synonomous with draining, clearing, 

 and filling for agriculture and other endeavors. In this decade, "reclamation" has 

 come to mean the restoration of disturbed wetlands to their former condition, or the 

 development of new wetlands where none had previously existed. 



The U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS) has estimated that there were 

 51,435,000 hectares (127,096,000 acres) of wetlands in the lower 48 states prior to 

 settlement by Europeans.' The extent of these wetlands steadily declined until 1954, 

 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reported an estimated 30,132,000 

 hectares (74,456,172 acres) remaining.^ Since 1954 destruction or degradation of 

 existing wetlands has taken place at a rapid pace, especially in such regions as the 

 lower Mississippi Valley, the prairie potholes, and in coastal marshes and estuaries. ^ 

 These losses have occurred despite federal and state efforts to protect wetlands and 

 the growing awareness of wetland values by private citizens. 



An example of the wetland losses the nation has suffered in recent years was 

 presented by MacDonald et al."* for the Mississippi River valley from southern 

 Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. Of 1 0, 1 25,000 hectares (25,0 1 8,875 acres) originally in 

 forested wetlands, only 2,097,900 hectares (5,183,911 acres) remain. Of that which 

 remains, approximately 121,500 hectares (300,226 acres) of forested wetlands are 

 cleared annually. 



FEDERAL WETLANDS RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 

 PROTECTION PROGRAMS 



The decline in the nation's wetlands has prompted the establishment of various 

 federal programs aimed at either protecting or building wetland areas and involving 

 substantial research efforts. For example. Executive Order 1 1990 in 1977 required 

 that all federal agencies conserve and protect wetlands in all of their undertakings. 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Water Bank Program is paying farmers in 

 15 states to leave wetlands and adjacent lands undrained and undisturbed (Ramon 

 Callahan, SCS, Jackson, MS, personal communication). To date, 239,098 hectares 

 (590,811 acres) are under 10-year agreements; 65,730 hectares (162,419 acres) are 

 actual wetland areas, while 173,368 hectares (428,392 acres) are adjacent wetland 

 habitats. 



The Authors: Mary C. Landin is a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment 

 Station (WES), Vicksburg, Mississippi. Ms. Landin's recent research interests include marsh restoration, the 

 development of waterbird nesting habitat on dredged material islands, and borrow pit habitat evaluation. 

 Hanley K. Smith is an ecologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) in 

 Vicksburg, Mississippi. Dr. Smith joined the Corps of Engineers in St. Louis before joining WES in 1974. His 

 recent research interests include marsh development and wetland identification and delineation. 



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