STATE OF WASHINGTON 



OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR 



OLYMPIA 



06SO4-O4I3 



BOOTH GARDNER 



QOVERNOR 



EXECUTIVE ORDER 



EG 90-04 



PROTECTION OF WETLANDS 



WHEREAS, wetlands provide ecological as well as economic benefits to the state by 

 protecting and preserving drinicing water supplies; by providing a natural means of flood 

 and storm damage protection; by serving as transition zones between dry land and water 

 courses, thereby retarding soil erosion; by providing essential breeding, spawning, 

 rearing, feeding, nesting, and wintering habitats for fish and wildlife; by providing 

 special vegetation and vegetative communities; by serving important functions for* 

 surface and groundwater supplies of the state; and by providing outdoor training and 

 educational resources; and 



WHEREAS, as much as fifty percent of the state's original wetlands have been drained, 

 dredged, filled, or otherwise altered and over ninety percent of the original saltwater 

 wetlands in some urban estuaries of Puget Sound have been eliminated; and 



WHEREAS, losses statewide are as much as two thousand acres annually; and 



WHEREAS, loss of wetlands harms the economic and ecological welfare of the state; and 



WHEREAS, local governments are in the process of planning for growth and for the 

 protection of critical areas, including wetlands; and 



WHEREAS, wetlands are among the most fragile of natural resources and must be 

 protected by state agencies in their stewardship of lands and waters subject to the 

 public trust; and 



WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to protect the functions and values of wetlands; 



NOW, THEREFORE, I, Booth Gardner, Governor of the state of Washington, by virtue of 

 the power vested in me, do hereby order. 



