Wetlands- Research and Solutions
Wetlands protect against flooding, they trap sediment, clean water and provides food however they are constantly being encroached on and disregarded as hindrances to real estate development. The main goal in fixing the current state of minimized wetlands (the original 221 million acres have been reduces to less than half of that) is to reintroduce wetlands to counter the current trend, where every year 290,000 acres are lost, and to counter the current decline.
Research
Often thought of as only swamps but actually segregated
Coastal wetlands (Marine or estuaries) include shrub wetlands, salt marshes, mangrove swamps, brackish marshes, Delmarva bays, deltas and lagoons.
Also the introduction of non-native plants is encroaching on wetlands
Definition of a wetland includes:
1. Must support water tolerant or hydrophytes plants
2. Presence of saturated (hydric) soils- do not drain well and are saturated enough hat they create an anaerobic or low oxygen system
3. Must have a hydraulic regime or contain water at some point during the year
Why important to fish (→ overall goal of Terrascope)
• Cleans the water
• Important for fish health because they are affected by nitrogen and oxygen levels and are affected by the presence of nitrates)
• Shell fish cant survive if they are smothered.
• Silt in water covers fish eggs keeping hem fro oxygen which causes death or sickness
• Provides a habitat for fish reproduction, feeding and resting (they are significantly more protected than the open ocean)
• Perch, pickerel, bass, sunfish, muskellunge, catfish and walleyes breed in wetlands (many are endangered or are becoming endangered due to loss of wetlands
• Provides food, vegetative cover and water
Protection Solutions
1) When a wetland contains animals that are on the endangered species, the wetlands that contain them are afforded more protection. Thus getting more fish and wetland dwelling animals on he endangered species list.
2) Protected under the Dam safety and Encroachments Act and the Federal Clean Waters Act under clause to "Avoid, minimize and compensate". Provisions for improvement include stricter enforcement and larger contribution fines for encroachment.
3) The litigation process includes trying to avoid encroachment on wetlands then if it is going to occur there is a permit process with compromises between various groups and if encroachment occurs the company or individual is required to create a new wetland or contribute to he Wetland Replacement Fund. Once again provisions to reduce encroachment include lenghtening the litigation process by requiring stricter permits and requiring more to be contributed to the replacement act.