Redefining Our Regulatory Goals

Ecologically speaking, the term "wetland" has no meaning; the natural systems exist on a hydrologic gradient from ocean to desert. Somewhere in the middle are what society calls wetlands. For regulatory purposes, a wetland is whatever we decide it is. The type of natural systems that have been defined as wetlands has changed virtually every year for the last decade. A consistent definition based on national goals and policy, however, is possible if we first decide why it is important to define wetlands and what our regulatory goals are.