18 Wetland Assessment Criteria 



Wetlands do not necessarily perform all functions with associated public 

 service values and/or perform them equally well. 



Congress directed the Department to consider contributions wetlands 

 make to wildlife, fisheries, water quantity and quality, flood control, 

 outdoor recreation and other areas or concerns of the Secretary. As 

 indicated by the Report of the Senate Committee on Environment and 

 PubHc Works (U.S. Senate, September 16, 1986): 



" No one of these services or products provided by the respective 

 wetlands types should be given greater priority than any other. 

 Instead, the Secretary should consider the broadest range of 

 wetlands values in establishing priorities and not limit his 

 consideration to any one service or product contributed by a 

 wetlands type." 



A summary discussion of the functions and values of wetlands is 

 provided to assist in understanding the importance of wetlands from the 

 standpoint of public values that should be protected. "An Overview of 

 Major Wetland Functions and Values" (Sather and Smith, 1984) and "A 

 Method for Wetland Functional Assessment, Vol. 1" (Adamus and 

 Stockwell, March 1983) were the sources for much of this information. 

 These reports are example sources that may be consulted for detailed 

 information on wetland functions, assessment methodologies and 

 literature sources. 



a. and b. Wildlife and Fisheries 



Wetlands are among the world's most biologically productive ecosystems 

 and are crucial as habitats for fish and wildlife. Roughly two-thirds of the 

 commercially important fish and shellfish species harvested along the 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts and half of the Pacific coast are dependent upon 

 estuarine wetlands for food, spawning and/or nursery areas. A 

 commercial marine fisheries harvest valued at over $10 billion annually 

 provides one economic measure of the significance of coastal wetland 

 resources. Coastal recreational fishing may contribute an equivalent 

 economic value annually (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987). 



Wetlands provide essential breeding, spawning, nursery, nesting, 

 migratory and/or wintering habitat for a major portion of the Nation's 

 migratory and resident fish and wildlife. Approximately one-third of the 

 Nation's threatened and endangered plant and animal species depend 

 heavily on wetlands. Millions of water-associated birds including 

 waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, gulls and terns, rails and other 

 groups depend on marshes, potholes, sloughs, swamps, mudflats and other 

 wetland types. 



Fish and wildlife habitat is one of the more studied functional values of 

 wetlands (Lonard et al., 1981). The state-of-the-art for fish and wildlife 



