Status and Trends of the Nation’s Wetlands
A new report by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service,
Status and Trends
of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997,
indicates the rate of wetland loss
in the United States has decreased by 80 percent in the past decade.
This is the greatest
measured overall decline in the rate of wetland loss since records have been compiled by the
These results point out that the American public needs to remain diligent
in its commitment to wetland protection, so the substantial progress being made in wetland
protection is not lost in the future.
A separate scientifically-based survey, the National Resources Inventory (NRI), conducted by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, on the Nation’s
private lands for the period 1992 to 1997, also showed a significant reduction in wetland losses.
The NRI reports that the rate of wetland loss has declined even more between 1992 and 1997
than in the previous five years.
The NRI differs from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Wetlands Status and Trends report in its legislative mandate and purpose, as well as time frame,
scope, focus, and methodologies.
The revised 1997 NRI provides information on the status and
trends of soil, water and related resources on the Nation’s privately owned lands on a national,
regional, and state basis.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
Wetland Status and Trends report
shows that the loss rate of estuarine
wetlands along the nation’s coastlines
freshwater wetlands in coastal areas
remained susceptible to loss because
While the study also
reported that between 1986 and 1997,
forested wetlands and freshwater
wetlands continued to show the most
dramatic losses, the conversion of
forested wetlands to agriculture had
been reduced in places such as the
lower Mississippi alluvial plain and
southeast coastal states.
Much of the overall decline in wetland
loss can be attributed to wetland
policies and programs enacted in the past decade that have helped reduce draining and filling of
wetlands, while increasing wetland restoration, creation and enhancement.
these were more vigilant regulation of activities that impact wetlands, elimination of incentives
for wetland drainage, acquisition and conservation easements, public education and outreach
about wetlands. Other efforts included private land initiatives, coastal resource protection
programs, and wetland restoration and creation actions by Federal, State, and local agencies,
working in concert with business, citizen associations, and youth groups.