CRS-7 



Research is especially needed in areas where wetlands are scarce, where 

 they can perform particularly important functions, or where a large portion 

 of the wetland resource has already been lost. In a period of scarce research 

 funds, it is probably more important to increase work on fresh water wetlands 

 that are disappearing rapidly. One goal of research should be to gain enough 

 knowledge so that the functional value of all types of wetlands can be com- 

 pared. This capability would greatly enhance the decision-makers' capacity 

 to reach sound conclusions. 



Con 



Other persons counter that the functions and values of most freshwater 

 wetlands are already generally understood. Additional research would refine 

 our knowledge, but not at a level commensurate with dollars spent. Without 

 special incentives, freshwater wetlands research has increased greatly in the 

 past few years. Knowledge about freshwater wetlands is growing rapidly. Sci- 

 entific research has already produced a number of significant results. There 

 appears to be sufficient information on most of these areas to allow managers 

 to make informed decisions. Additional information may be of interest to sci- 

 entists, but it is less clear that it would provide incremental benefits to 

 managers. 



If any special priority is to be given, perhaps it should go to research 

 on special wetlands in a natural condition. These areas include small wet- 

 lands, edge zones of wetlands, heavily modified wetlands, and created wetlands. 

 These types of areas appear to have different values from large, unmodified 

 wetlands. We need to learn more about these values, and whether valuable 

 natural resources are being lost when additional modification occurs. 



