Wetlands 



The term wetlands has different connotations for different people; the 

 coastal and marine oriented think of salt marshes and salt meadows, the fresh 

 water biologist thinks of emergent Typha marshes, cedar swamps, acid bogs, 

 and floodplain woodlands. In this paper, the term wetlands applies to the 

 fresh water domain. 



Fresh water wetlands are considered ecologically important in terms of 

 primary production. Fresh water wetlands serve as prime productive areas for 

 waterfowl and fisheries species, flood and storm water control, protection of 

 subsurface water resources, recreation, domestic wastewater treatment, erosion 

 control, open space, and esthetic appreciation. 



THE PRIORITY RANKING DECISION SCHEME 



Generating a Priority Scheme 



A priority scheme for cleanup is concerned primarily with those areas 

 that have already been contaminated with oil. The premise is that the oil 

 should be removed as quickly as possible to minimize the environmental damage. 

 This same premise is applicable for generating a priority scheme for shore- 

 line protection as well. 



Prioritization of cleanup is more realistic for inland spills than 

 shoreline protection because oil movements are so rapid in many of the inland 

 waterways that there usually is very little time before the oil has impacted 

 a shoreline. It is imperative that the cleanup effort be initiated as soon as 

 possible to minimize the effects of the oil migrating to adjacent clean shore- 

 lines. 



The first step in cleanup planning is to organize the impacted shore- 

 lines in order of cleanup need. To do this, the position of a particular 

 shoreline in the priority list will depend upon the answers to the following 

 questions: . 



1. What is the biological or cultural value of the shoreline? 



2. What is the degree of oil contamination? 



3. What is the degree of potential for oil to migrate from the con- 

 taminated shoreline to an uncontaminated shore? 



4. What is the spatial distribution of the affected shorelines 

 relative to each other? 



These questions have been identified and addressed by Foget et al . 

 (1979) in a manual prepared by Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Inc. for the EPA. 



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