ground for many species of birds, and provides 

 habitat to several endangered species. Drainage of 

 wetlands for farming and flood control were the 

 major factors in past wetland conversions in the 

 area. Extensive drainage created various ecologigal 

 problems. Saltwater intrusion into public drinking 

 water supplies is a constant threat. The hydrologic 

 regime of the Everglades has been disrupted, which 

 threatens the biological integrity of the Everglades 

 National Park. 



Colonial bird breeding populations have dropped 

 precipitously and fish nursery grounds have been 

 disrupted. Scientists have also suggested that drain- 

 ing wetlands for channelization of the Kissimmee 

 River may have been responsible for a change in 

 local rainfall, which has created droughts in recent 

 years. These problems, combined with recognition 

 of the natural values of the area, have led Florida to 

 undertake restoration of the Kissimmee River and 

 the Everglades to their natural state (43). 



The total area in the two MLRA's used to approx- 

 imate the south Florida area is almost 15 million 

 acres, 1.5 million of which were cropped in 1982. 

 The predominant land use was divided among 

 pasture, range, and forest. A total of 4.5 million 



acres of wetlands were on non-Federal land in 

 these two areas. Only 62,000 of the wetland acres 

 had high conversion potential, while 321,000 had 

 medium potential. 



Prairie Pothole Emergent Wetlands 



The prairie pothole region is North America's most 

 valuable waterfowl breeding ground. This 

 227,000-square-mile area of Canada and the United 

 States produces between one-half and two-thirds of 

 the ducks raised in North America, even though it 

 comprises only 10 percent of all available duck 

 nesting habitat. About one-quarter of the area lies 

 in North Dakota (2.7 million acres). South Dakota 

 (1.3 million acres), and Minnesota (1.5 million 

 acres) [27]. It has been estimated that half of the 

 original wetlands are gone, mostly to farmland. 

 Most ducks now breed on farm fields, not in 

 isolated wilderness areas. In drought years, water- 

 fowl are severely affected. Breeding habitat is lost 

 when wetlands dry out; further, farmers can 

 cultivate wetlands and can plow closer to remain- 

 ing wetlands, removing valuable cover that water- 

 fowl use as cover from predators (33). As more 

 wetlands are drained, waterfowl are forced onto 

 fewer and fewer remaining areas, which may lead 



Table 14 — Conversion potential of wetlands in critical problem areas, 1982 



'Includes wetland with no conversion potential and where conversion potential was not estimated. 



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