Readings

Wetland Fact Sheets, U.S. EPA website. Access at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/contents.html (read sections: Wetlands Overview; Types of Wetlands; Functions and Values of Wetlands; Economic Benefits of Wetlands; Threats to Wetlands; Wetland Restoration; Section 404 of the Clean Water Act: An Overview; Wetlands on Ag Lands: Section 404 and Swampbuster; NRCS to Identify Agricultural Wetlands; What About Takings?; Exemptions to Section 404 Permit Requirements)

Wetland Mitigation Banking: Status and Prospects, Jeffrey Zinn, CRS Report for Congress, Sept, 12, 1997. Access online through the National Council for Science and the Environment: www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/. In the request form, type in the CRS code # --97 -849. Read entire 17 page report.

Key Questions

• What are the functions and values of wetlands?
• What factors adversely affect wetlands?
• Which are the regulatory agencies that oversee the implementation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act? How do they function?
• How are wetlands on agricultural lands regulated?
• What are the different methods of wetland compensatory mitigation?
• What are the arguments for and against wetlands mitigation banking?
• What is the status of wetlands mitigation banking in the US?
• What are the arguments for and against wetlands categorization?
• What is the status of wetlands categorization in the US?