Wetlands: May 2008 Archives

The Performance Information and Visualization and Outreach Tool (PIVOT) module for the National Estuary Program (NEP) highlights common habitat degradation and loss problems faced by National Estuary communities around the country.

PIVOT's interactive graphics, maps and photos are designed to help users better understand the issues and visually track progress toward achieving habitat restoration goals in the 28 National Estuary Programs.

An interactive graphic shows how everyday human activities along the coast increase pressures on natural habitat and can impact the health of our estuaries in other ways as well.

Links are provided to information about watersheds, maps, and performance measures useful for reporting progress toward improving the health of coastal watersheds.

Performance Indicators Visualization and Outreach Tool (PIVOT)

The National Estuary Program works with local communities to improve the health of our nation's estuaries. Community support and involvement is fundamental to the success of these efforts. Through an extensive stakeholder planning process, NEP communities develop comprehensive conservation and management plans, or CCMPs. These plans serve as documentation of the communities' environmental goals for their estuaries and watersheds as well as blueprints for achieving those goals. As this is a long-term process, keeping the community well informed and connected with plan activities and progress is critical to keeping the plan a vital, living process for the community.

Performance reporting is not only essential for garnering and maintaining community support, it is often mandated. Enabling legislation or other laws—federal or local—may require responsible agencies to report on what progress they are making toward established goals. For the National Estuary Program, several pieces of federal legislation weigh in on performance reporting.

28 National Estuary Programs

Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs was charged with developing and implementing a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) which establishes priorities for activities, research, and funding for the estuary. The CCMP serves as a blueprint to guide future decisions and actions and addresses a wide range of environmental protection issues including water quality, habitat, fish and wildlife, pathogens, land use, and introduced species to name a few. The CCMP is based on a scientific characterization of the estuary and is developed and approved by a broad-based coalition of stakeholders.

Comprehensive Estuary Conservation and Management Plans

Over the years, hundreds of thousands of miles of river corridors and millions of acres of wetlands have been damaged throughout the nation. Restoration seeks to return some of these ecosystems to their approximate pre-disturbance conditions.

The ecological and societal benefits of river corridor and wetlands restoration are substantial:

Rivers transport water, sediment, and nutrients from the land to the sea, play an important role in building deltas and beaches, and regulate the salinity and fertility of estuaries and coastal zones. Rivers serve as corridors for migratory birds and fish, and provide habitat to many unique species of plants and animals, including federally endangered and threatened aquatic species. According to the 1985 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife -Associated Recreation (U.S. DOI, Fish and Wildlife Service, 1988), 38.4 million fishermen spent $17.8 billion for non-Great Lakes freshwater fishing in 1985, with 45 percent of reported anglers fishing in rivers and streams.

Wetlands provide food, protection from predators, and other vital habitat factors for many of the nation's fish and wildlife species, including endangered and threatened species. In addition, wetland ecotypes have economic value associated with recreational, commercial, and subsistence use of fish and wildlife resources and they remove pollutants from overland flows before they reach our lakes, rivers and bays.

Wetlands intercept storm runoff and release floodwaters gradually to downstream systems. When wetlands are converted to systems without water retention capacity, downstream flooding problems increase.

From 1982 to 1992, a total of 768,700 acres of wetlands were gained as a result of restoration activities around the nation (USDA, 1997). Likewise, numerous miles of rivers and streams were restored in our nations watersheds over the same time period. When properly planned, executed and managed, restoration works; its success can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of practitioners, scientists, and others who seek to heal damaged natural systems and improve our communities.

Learn more about restoration of wetlands:

EPA Wetlands, oceans & Watersheds

Learn! Explore! Take Action!

Celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health.

May, American Wetlands Month is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide - improved water quality, increased water storage and supply, reduced flood and storm surge risk, and critical habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife.

In organizing its activities this year, EPA is placing special emphasis on encouraging Americans to:

1. Learn about wetlands. This is a great time to better understand what a wetland is, where wetlands can be found, and the importance of wetlands. Activities may include reading and studying about wetland areas, drawing maps or illustrations of wetlands, and identifying native species found in wetlands. Information on wetlands and the important benefits they provide is available on this website, through EPA's wetland fact sheet series, or by visiting the websites of our partners.
2. Explore a wetland near you. Unless you live in the most extreme climate zones, there is a good chance a scenic wetland exists nearby for you to visit and explore during American Wetlands Month and throughout the year. To find a wetland near you, consult your local parks department, state natural resource agency, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (http://www.fws.gov/refuges). If you live in the Washington, DC area, a guide has been created to highlight wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries.
3. Take action to protect and restore wetlands. Support and promote wetlands informing community members about wetlands' vital roles, "adopting" a wetland, joining a local watershed group, or participating in a wetland monitoring, restoration, or cleanup project. There are many other actions Americans can take to help conserve wetlands.To learn more about what you can do to help protect and restore these valuable natural resources in your state or local area, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm/#you.