Because wetlands are often located at the topographic low point of a watershed, they are profoundly influenced by activities in upland areas. Yet most federal, state, and local wetland permitting programs focus on the wetland boundary, failing to regulate activities that occur within a wetland’s contributing drainage area. These unregulated activities degrade our urban wetlands, underscoring the need for greater local protection. In the current edition of the National Wetlands Newsletter® (January-February 2007), Tiffany Wright, a Watershed Analyst at the Center for Watershed Protection, describes the indirect impacts of urbanization on wetland hydrology and water quality and summarizes the biological responses to these impacts.
“While the article, based on a review of 100 research studies, notes that it is not yet possible to define a specific threshold of development that causes impairment, it does demonstrate the need for greater local protection of our urban wetlands,” said NWN Editor Rachel Jean-Baptiste.
Other contributors to the January-February issue include Matthew T. Heberling, Hale W. Thurston, and Michael Mikota, who look at the economic considerations of wetlands and water quality trading; Edward A. Thomas, who focuses on the “no adverse impact” concept of land use decisionmaking; and Sydney A. Bacchus, who examines the link between wetlands and wildfires in Florida.
For more than two decades, the nationally recognized National Wetlands Newsletter has been a widely read and respected journal on wetlands, floodplains, and coastal water resources. The newsletter, published by the highly respected Environmental Law Institute®, analyzes the latest topics in wetland regulation, policy, science, and management through feature articles written by local, national, and international experts from a variety of perspectives.
For more information on the National Wetlands Newsletter, and the articles contained in the January/February 2007 issue, please contact Rachel Jean-Baptiste, Editor, NWN, at 202-558-3101 or jean-baptiste@eli.org.