104 



SOIL5 

 AND WATER 

 CONSERVATION 

 SOCIETY 



Wetland Conservation 



POLICY 

 POSITION 



ISSUE 



How to conserve wetlands and the important public values they provide. 



BACKGROUND 



Healthy, properly functioning wetlands contribute to people's environ- 

 mental well-being in many ways. They help to protect and improve sur- 

 face water and groundwater quality, provide valuable habitat for plants 

 and animals, control flooding, prevent soil erosion, and provide aesthetic 

 features and recreation. Wetlands also possess important historical values, 

 and they act as buffers between our water supplies and our developed 

 world of roads, fields, and homes. 



Wetlands are highly diverse in nature. They encompass a variety of vege- 

 tated aquatic ecosystems, such as bogs, marshes, swamps, playas, and 

 prairie potholes. Each has unique values that vary in quality and quanti- 

 ty. Many wetlands possess irreplaceable ecologiccil and social values; some 

 are among the most productive natural areas in the world. Others possess 

 values of little importance to natural systems or society. 



Because many wetlands are so important to the future of humankind, fed- 

 eral, state/ provincial, and local governments have enacted laws to protect 

 these natural areas. By protecting or minimizing damage to those wet- 

 lands that remain and by restoring wetlands that have been destroyed or 

 damaged, governments are attempting to protect these valuable natural 

 assets and the important values they represent. 



Some efforts to protect and restore wetlands create confusion, resentment, 

 and resistance among some landowners, land managers, developers, and 

 others who view conservation laws and regulations as barriers to econom- 

 ic growth or unwarranted limitations on property rights. Fear and igno- 

 rance of laws and regulations also complicate administration of wetland 

 protection and restoration programs, as do unclear, inconsistent, and ill- 

 defined wetland policies. 



POSITION 



Given this background and the diversity of opinion that exists with respect 

 to wetland protection and restoration efforts, the Soil and Water 

 Conservation Society (SWCS) has adopted the following position: 



• Wetlands-are valuable and, in many cases, irreplaceable ecosystems. SWCS is 

 committed to the protection of those ecologically and socially important 



