are the efforts of the State of Michigan to preserve and improve remaining wetlands 

 while reestablishing lost marshes.' 



Private Efforts 



Private groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and the National Audubon Society 

 have substantial amounts of wetlands under their control. Such areas are often 

 protected as sanctuaries and preserves in a total ecosystem management approach. 

 Many of these areas were acquired over the last decade, as the private citizen's 

 responsibility for endangered and threatened wildlife and wetlands has increased. 

 Additionally, dedicated commercial and nonprofit companies undertake by contract 

 to build wetlands. The most prominent of these companies. Environmental Concern 

 of St. Michael's, Maryland, has built numerous salt marshes along the Atlantic coast 

 with a great deal of expertise and efficiency. Other notable companies in this field are: 

 Mangrove Systems, Inc., of Tampa, Florida, Wave Beach Grass Nurseries of 

 Florence, Oregon, and San Francisco Bay Marine Research Center of San 

 Francisco, California. Personnel of these companies have traveled extensively to 

 accomplish their wetlands-building missions. 



Federal Agencies 



FWS Efforts 



The FWS has expanded its traditional objectives of management for wildlife 

 species (primarily waterfowl) to include a total ecosystem approach.^ As previously 

 noted, FWS expends much of its resources on acquisition, protection, and 

 management of the National Wildlife Refuge system. There are 460 waterfowl areas 

 and migratory bird refuges located throughout the United States, each centered 

 around a unique or valuable habitat for one or more species of wildlife. ' Most of 

 these areas include wetland communities. 



The FWS has conducted wetland studies through projects such as the National 

 Wetlands Inventory and the Habitat Evaluation Procedures, and through research 

 into habitat classification, coastal ecosystems and stream alterations.^ Basic wetlands 

 research is being conducted by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, the Migratory 

 Bird Research Laboratory, the Denver Wildlife Research Center, the Northern 

 Prairie Research Center, and the cooperative wildlife research units in many states, 

 plus other FWS research activities scattered across the United States. 



CE Efforts 



The CE has focused its wetlands development research efforts primarily in the 

 DMRP/DOTS programs. The DMRP Habitat Development Project conducted 

 extensive literature surveys on the subject, and demonstrated innovative marsh 

 establishment techniques at six major sites around the United States: Windmill 

 Point, Virginia; Buttermilk Sound, Georgia; Apalachicola Bay, Florida; Bolivar 

 Peninsula, Texas; San Francisco Bay, California; and Miller Sands Island, Oregon. 

 Materials and methods used to develop these field sites as well as interim results of 

 site establishment are set forth in a series of technical reports available from WES.*"" 

 A series of synthesis reports also include detailed information on wetland habitat 

 development, management, ecological considerations, wildlife use, costs, engineer- 

 ing techniques, and other pertinent factors. '*" 20 jhg techniques set forth in these 

 reports were designed specifically for dredged material substrates; however, they can 

 be readily applied to other disturbed substrates as well. Applications have already 

 been made to a strip mining site^' and could apply equally well to other mining sites, 

 road fill and borrow areas, construction sites, reservoir drawdown zones, and 

 eroding shorelines and banks. 



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