CRS-32 



Pro 



The Federal wetlands inventory, now being conducted by the Fish and Wild- 

 life Service is designed to identify all the Nation's wetlands. It will pro- 

 vide a current national assessment of wetland resources (see page 62). The 

 inventory should be periodically updated to show changes in each of the major 

 categories of wetlands resources. As an all-inclusive survey, it locates 

 wetland areas that are both within and outside the jurisdiction of section 404 

 as the regulations currently define wetlands. Some persons argue that the 

 inventory would be a good point of departure for determining If a wetland area 

 is to be subject to section 404. Their view Is that is an area is identified 

 as a wetland by the inventory, then it should be regulated as a wetland, that 

 is, making the area subject to section 404. 



Con 



Other persons respond that the inventory is a tool of wetlands science. 

 Its purpose and goals are primarily scientific, while the wetland regulatory 

 program has different goals (compare pages 61-64 to pages 79-82). Further, 

 State programs already use different definitions for wetlands, and many of 

 these programs even have their own inventory requirements. As with the Fed- 

 eral regulatory program, the key question at State and local levels Is whether 

 an area is or is not part of a regulated wetland. Therefore, the inventory 

 should not be a major tool in the regulatory program. 



The maps, covering large areas, are prepared from aerial photography. 

 Many wetlands are located in dense vegetation or forested areas. Consequently, 

 for reasons of scale and ground cover, boundaries can only be approximated. 

 While these boundaries are accurate, they are not of the precision necessary 

 to make regulatory decisions. Most regulatory proposals require a site visit 

 or precise mapping to determine resource boundaries and predict possible 



