the N.C. General Assembly calling 

 for a statewide wetland policy. 



Meanwhile, landowners are caught 

 in a regulatory limbo. Farmers aren't 

 sure what fields they can farm. And 

 bankers are reluctant to lend money 

 for properties that may be considered 

 wetlands. 



"North Carolina is in the middle of 

 the pack as far as protecting wet- 

 lands," says Doug Rader, a senior 

 scientist with the N.C. Environmental 

 Defense Fund. "Some states have 

 done nothing. Others have done a lot 

 more." 



The problem becomes muddy in 

 North Carolina because different sets 

 of rules govern different types of 

 wetlands. 



On the edge of the Roanoke River 

 National Wildlife Refuge in Bertie 

 County, heavy rains frequently flood 

 the flatland, drowning the trunks of 

 ash, cypress, tupelo gum and syca- 

 more trees. 



About 140 miles west, in Durham, 

 Ed Harrison, wetlands co-chairman 

 for the N.C. Sierra Club, treks 

 through the dense, woody hillside of 

 New Hope Creek, pointing out 

 pockets that occasionally flood. 



In North Carolina, both sites are 

 considered as wetlands. But one 

 region — the wetlands of New Hope 

 — lacks the protection afforded the 

 refuge's waterlogged lands. Under 

 proposed federal legislation, both 

 areas stand to lose even more. 



About 95 percent of North 

 Carolina's wetlands lie in the coastal 

 plain. But wetlands stretch to the 

 Piedmont flatlands and mountain 

 bogs, too. Surprisingly, 75 percent of 

 all the state's wetlands classify as 

 freshwater wetlands. 



Eighteen states have freshwater 

 wetland protection, says Rader. But 

 so far, North Carolina's protection 

 targets coastal, saltwater wetlands. 



"The regulations for coastal 

 wetlands really stand alone," says 

 Walter Clark, Sea Grant's coastal law 

 specialist. "They weren't written to 



protect freshwater wetlands." 



The Coastal Area Management Act 

 protects coastal wetlands in 20 eastern 

 North Carolina counties. CAMA 

 designates these salt and brackish 

 marshes that serve as important 

 natural feeding and nesting grounds as 



The issues tie so 

 closely to the land. 

 But so much seems to 

 be up in the air for 

 one of North Carol- 

 ina's most important 



natural resources. 

 Wetlands covered 1 1 



I 



million acres of the 

 state in 1 780, 

 according to the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice. Now about 5.5 

 million acres remain. 



"Areas of Environmental Concern." 

 It sets up specific standards that 

 must be met for development to be 

 permitted. 



Dock and pier sizes are limited, for 

 example, to avoid shading important 

 wetlands, and excavations must 

 bypass them. 



The state Dredge and Fill Act 

 limits dredging and filling of estuar- 

 ies, tidelands, marsh and state-owned 

 lakes by requiring a permit for such 

 activities. 



These two acts work in conjunc- 



tion with the major federal program 

 that has limited wetland losses over 

 the past 18 years. Section 404 of the 

 Clean Water Act gives the U.S. Army 

 Corps of Engineers the authority to 

 regulate the discharge of dredge and 

 fill material into waters of the United 

 States, which include freshwater and 

 saltwater wetlands. 



In North Carolina, anyone who 

 applies for a federal 404 permit must 

 get certification that the proposed 

 activity — such as building a marina 

 — complies with North Carolina's 

 water quality standards. If the state 

 says "no," the permit is denied. 



Section 404 provides the sole 

 protection for freshwater wetlands in 

 North Carolina. 



Since CAMA only covers 20 

 coastal counties, "we're relying on 

 federal protection for freshwater 

 wetlands in North Carolina," says Ed 

 Harrison of the Sierra Club. 



Some say the state and federal 

 regulations are too rigid. Drier, flat 

 wetlands that rarely flood make prime 

 development areas. If the land isn't 

 wet, why call it a wetland, some 

 argue. 



Others say the regulations are too 

 flexible. 



No comprehensive state or federal 

 program clearly defines what a 

 wetland is. And since Section 404's 

 primary mandate is to regulate dredge 

 and fill, wetland protection occurs. 

 But plenty of loopholes exist. 



The Environmental Protection 

 Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and the Food Security Act of 

 1985 each have their own definitions 

 of a wetland. 



Although the definitions vary, they 

 outline the basic criteria used to 

 determine a wetland — soil type, 

 saturation level and vegetation. 



Even when a wetland is designated, 

 exceptions to the rules persist. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 estimates that as much as 80 percent 

 of the nation's wetland losses have 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 7 



