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- EPA Issues Guidance: Protect Water Quality in Appalachian Communities from Mtntop. Mining
- Climate Change Argument Brought Back Down to Earth
- House Passes Bill That Could Undo Gains in Water Quality
- Another Dirty Water Act
- Approval of Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act Urged
- Valuing Ecosystem Services
- Could Dirt Help Heal the Climate?
- The Compleat Wetlander: The Clean Water Act and Cooperative Federalism: Lessons of the Founding Fathers
- Update: Waters of the U.S. Draft Guidance
- White House Threatens Veto of EPA Funding Bill
- Sen. Landrieu and Gulf Coast senators introduce bill to assign BP penalties to coastal restoration
- Compleat Wetlander: For Lessons Learned Visit the Wetlands Database
- HOW Coalition to Congress: We Cannot Afford NOT to Restore the Great Lakes
- In State Parks, the Sharpest Ax Is the Budget’s
- New Fed Climate Change Adaptation Program
- The Mississippi, No Longer Muddy, Still a Threat
- NJ: Evesham attorney is a warrior for wetlands protection
- DE: Environmental Officials battle invasive rodent
- MS: New grant funds Gulf wetlands data collection
- TN: Take a walk on the wild side
- MN/ND: Vicksburg, Miss., team cleaning up Minot, N.D., after devastating flood
- VA: Clean water: To save the Bay, we must work together
- WI: Rock-Koshkonong Lake District v. State Department of Natural Resources
- LA: Levee armoring plans challenged by East Bank levee authority members
- SC: Court rules on isolated wetlands
- LA: Levee District to begin wetlands project
- MO: Flood expert Galloway: Missouri River floodplain needs comprehensive plan
- FL: Can Florida’s nature and people outrace sea-level rise?
- SC: Gold mine delays hiring of 200 workers until 2012
- NC: Levees hold as Souris River crests at historic high
- VA: Scientists say wind reduces Chesapeake Bay dead zones
- Alarming Dead Zone Grows in the Chesapeake
- Green Deals: And Now for Blue Carbon
- Professor Garners Award to Study Impacts from Oil Spill on the Gulf
- The Compleat Wetlander: Rethinking Floods — Can We Take Actions Now to Reduce Future Catastrophes?
- From wetland carbon to livelihoods carbon
- Seeking water solutions amid climate change
- Duck Population on the Rise
- Six reasons to be optimistic about Lake Ontario's future
- A history lesson 20 feet below the Meadowlands
- Michigan Stormwater Floodplain Association Annual Conference
- 15th National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference (2012)
Editor's Note
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The hot weather has sent me to Little Sebago Lake to spend time with my family, who has embraced my pointer-dachshund (finally) as my trusty side-kick. Sophie-Bea has been cautious about swimming while other dogs are nearby. A few times I have spotted her looking over her shoulder to the empty beach and wading into the shallow lake to retrieve a tennis ball toy. But she prefers to dig a hole in the wet sand and wallow like a water buffalo. Meanwhile, I have floated around on a raft in the cove, observing the lone snapping turtle, who lurks beneath a mat of weeds. It’s been 15 years since I’ve seen a snapper in our cove—and the sight is welcome. Don’t believe me? Read Strange Wetlands to learn the truth about snapping turtles.
ASWM has been busy working with other nonprofit organizations this month commenting on the draft federal proposed Clean Water Act guidance, for which the comment period was extended by 30 days to July 31, 2011. For more information, visit http://aswm.org/wetlands-law/cwa-guidance.
We’ve also launched the Wetland Bookshelf, a collection of recommended reading. The name comes from the concept of a wetland shelf—only on ASWM’s site, these books will help readers get their feet wet in a variety of genres from wetland restoration and science to wetland-inspired fiction and nonfiction. Look for the bi-weekly recommended reading on The Compleat Wetlander for summer reading ideas. Occasionally we post book reviews on the blog -- the most recent one was on Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating on the restorative powers of gastropods.
For the past month, ASWM’s Facebook group page has seen some technical issues having to do with posting links, which applied retroactively. We apologize to those of you who belong to ASWM’s Facebook group and have missed seeing weekly blog posts. For this reason, I have included a few recent Compleat Wetlander blog posts in this issue of WBN.
Fifteen (or more) new wetland-related jobs have been posted since the last issue of WBN. Wetland job seekers can visit http://www.aswm.org/news/jobs-a-training-opportunities to learn more. To find out about wetland events, visit our calendar, here.
Stay cool during the heat waves of summer.
Leah Stetson
Editor, Wetland Breaking News
EDITOR'S CHOICE
EPA Issues Final Guidance to Protect Water Quality in Appalachian Communities from Impacts of Mountaintop Mining
Contact: Stacy Kika – EPA Press Release – July 21, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released final guidance on Appalachian surface coal mining, designed to ensure more consistent, effective, and timely review of surface coal mining permits under the Clean Water Act and other statutes. The guidance, which replaces the interim-final guidance issued by EPA on April 1, 2010, is based on the best-available science and incorporates input and feedback from over 60,000 comments received from the public and key stakeholders. For full press release, click here. For background information, click here.
Climate Change Argument Brought Back Down to Earth
By Mark Dunphy – Irish Weather Online – July 14, 2011
More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes soil to release the potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, new research published in a recent edition of Nature reveals.
[…] Van Groenigen, along with colleagues from Northern Arizona University and the University of Florida, gathered all published research to date from 49 different experiments mostly from North America, Europe and Asia, and conducted in forests, grasslands, wetlands, and agricultural fields, including rice paddies. The common theme in the experiments was that they all measured how extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affects how soils take up or release the gases methane and nitrous oxide. For full article, click here.
House Passes Bill That Could Undo Gains in Water Quality
By Katie Greenhaw – OMB Watch – July 15, 2011
A bill passed July 13th by the House of Representatives would remove crucial federal oversight from the Clean Water Act (CWA) and leave the quality of our nation’s waters at risk. The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018) would dismantle the federal- state relationship envisioned under the CWA by stripping EPA of its abilities to object to state-approved permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, revise state water quality standards, and veto dredge and fill permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. For full article, click here.
Another Dirty Water Act
Editorial – New York Times – July 14, 2011
Republicans in the House of Representatives — with the support of some key Democrats — seem determined to destroy the intricate and essential web of laws and regulations protecting the country’s environment. Their latest target is the hugely successful 1972 Clean Water Act. For full editorial, click here.
Approval of Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act Urged
Contact: Tracy T. Grondine – American Farm Bureau Federation – July 13, 2011
The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging support for the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R. 2018), a bipartisan bill that restores the balance between the states and the Environmental Protection Agency in regard to regulating the nation’s waters. The bill was passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 22. In a letter this week, AFBF joined a coalition of 121 organizations representing a broad cross-section of the economy, in support of the bill, which is up for consideration. For full press release, click here.
Valuing Ecosystem Services
ASWM.org – July 12, 2011
Historically wetland and floodplain managers have had difficulty calculating the value of ecosystem services. On July 12, 2011 the Association of State Wetland Managers hosted a webinar for the Natural Floodplain Function Alliance. David Batker of Earth Economics gave a presentation on valuing ecosystem services describing the work his firm is doing to document the monetary value of ecosystem services. To view presentation, click here (PPT).
Could Dirt Help Heal the Climate?
By Kristin Ohlson - Discover Magazine - June 30, 2011
Ohio State University soil scientist Rattan Lal says the agricultural soils of the world have the potential to soak up 13 percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today—the equivalent of scrubbing every ounce of CO2released into the atmosphere since 1980. The claim is a bold one, but researchers around the globe are digging up evidence that even modest changes to farming and ranching can have a major impact on carbon sequestration. For full article, click here.
The Compleat Wetlander: The Clean Water Act and Cooperative Federalism: Lessons of the Founding Fathers
By Jeanne Christie – The Compleat Wetlander – June 30, 2011
On May 26, 2011 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) and Ranking Member Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 2018, the “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011.” On June 22nd the Committee approved the bill and sent it forward to the full House. The purpose of the bill is to weaken some of the oversight authorities delegated to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act. For full blog post, click here.
Update: Waters of the U.S. Draft Guidance
EPA - June 27, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have extended the public comment period by 30 days for the Draft Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act. In response to requests from state and local officials, as well as other stakeholders, EPA will take additional comment on this important draft guidance that aims to protect U.S. waters until July 31, 2011. These waters are critical for the health of the American people, the economy and ecosystems in communities across the country. This change in the public comment period will not impact the schedule for finalizing the guidance or alter the intent to proceed with a rulemaking. Public input received will be carefully considered as the agencies make final decisions regarding the guidance. These comments will also be very helpful as the agencies prepare a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The original 60-day public comment period was originally set to expire on July 1, 2011. The Agencies will be publishing a notice of this 30-day extension in the Federal Register. For more information, click here.
National News
White House Threatens Veto of EPA Funding Bill
Federal Times – July 25, 2011
The Obama administration is threatening to veto an appropriations bill that it says would hinder the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to protect human health and the environment. HR 2584, which the House Appropriations Committee passed July 12, would slash EPA funding by $1.5 billion in 2012, and the Interior Department would see a $715 million cut. The administration, in a July 21 statement of administration policy, argues that the bill "undermines core government functions, investments key to economic growth and job creation, as well as protection of public health and the environment." At EPA, the White House said the cuts would
- Limit actions the administration could take to permit, control and monitor greenhouse gases.
- Block EPA's efforts to reduce GHG emissions from vehicles.
- Delay restoration of key ecosystems such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay.
- Fund 400 fewer wastewater and drinking water projects.
For full article, click here. It has a large number of anti-environment riders that would significantly reduce funding for some grant programs important to the states. To view fact sheets, click here. ASWIPCA has posted a summary as well as letters to the House and Senate on their website, click here.
Sen. Mary Landrieu and Gulf Coast senators introduce bill to assign BP penalties to coastal restoration
By Jonathan Tilove – The Times-Picayune – July 21, 2011
Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., introduced legislation this month to dedicate at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties assessed against BP for last year's Deepwater Horizon spill to ecological and economic restoration of the Gulf Coast. For full article, click here. For background information on coastal restoration in the Gulf after the oil spill, click here.
Compleat Wetlander: For Lessons Learned Visit the Wetlands Database
By Jeanne Christie – The Compleat Wetlander – July 7, 2011
In these difficult fiscal times most state budgets are being cut and state wetland programs are having difficulty maintaining current programs and the staff to carry them out. It is not a time when most states are thinking about building state wetlands programs, but they are thinking a lot about how to carry out programs more efficiently. They are looking for ideas. For full blog post, click here.
HOW Coalition to Congress: We Cannot Afford NOT to Restore the Great Lakes
Contact: Jeff Skelding – Healing Our Waters – July 7, 2011
"The $250 million in the House Interior Appropriations budget for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a significant cut from the $475 million in the first year of the program. The bill also slashes much-needed funding for upgrading failing sewage infrastructure by 55 percent. This bill still provides funding for restoration work, which will provide economic and environmental benefits from these types of investments. However, it fails to recognize the enormous restoration needs in the region. These funding cuts for proven restoration and clean water efforts that create jobs and protect the public's health are short-sighted. Cutting spending on the Great Lakes won't save money. For full press release, click here. For more information, click here.
In State Parks, the Sharpest Ax Is the Budget’s
By William Yardley – New York Times – July 6, 2011
As the summer season gets under way, budget-strapped state parks across the country are pursuing creative and sometimes controversial solutions simply to stay open. Many are imposing steep new fees, leaning ever more heavily on volunteers and, in one ominous effort to raise money, even pushing to drill for oil and gas beneath hiking trails and picnic pavilions. The vast majority of states have cut park financing, often significantly, since the economic downturn took full hold in 2008, and some were cutting long before that. Some parks are closing altogether. For full article, click here.
New Fed Climate Change Adaptation Program
FedCenter.gov - June 25, 2011
Fedcenter.gov has added a new Climate Change Adaptation Program Area to support Federal agency climate adaptation planning. Here you will find the most up-to-date information on understanding and planning for the effects of climate change, following the interagency strategy for sustainability as mandated by Executive Order 13514. Climate change directly affects Federal services, operations, programs, assets, and our national security. Under EO 13514, each agency is required to evaluate their climate change risks and vulnerabilities to manage the effects of climate change on the agency's mission and operations in both the short and long-term. This process in underway in civilian and military agencies. To facilitate the planning, the Council on Environmental Quality has approved a six step planning framework and eight Guiding Principles recommended by the Interagency Climate Change Task Force. The new section of Fedcenter.gov will provide a one-stop information source for both government and private sector professionals.
The Mississippi, No Longer Muddy, Still a Threat
By Steven Solomon - Bloomberg - June 21, 2011
As the floodwaters slowly recede along the lower Mississippi River, we can begin to take stock of the flood of 2011, the most devastating since the epic deluge of 1927. Most striking, by far, is what didn’t happen: Although many people and communities suffered, overall economic and social life in and around the most important arterial waterway in the U.S. suffered only minimal injury. The national economy dodged a bullet at a vulnerable moment. What went right? First and foremost, the emergency flood strategy devised by the Army Corps of Engineers after the 1927 disaster proved out. Think of it like this: The Mississippi Valley just south of St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico is essentially a 600-mile funnel that drains two- fifths of the continental U.S. from the Rockies to the Appalachians and serves as the commercial lifeline for the heartland’s 12,000-mile inland waterway transportation network. For full OpEd, click here.
State News
NJ: Evesham attorney is a warrior for wetlands protection
By Chris Bishop – Philly Burbs – July 27, 2011
A township resident and attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received the Edward T. “Red” Heinen Wetlands Award. It is the federal agency’s most prestigious national award recognizing work to protect wetlands. Stefania Shamet, a native of Dover, Del., was called “a leading voice on the legal issues involving wetlands here in the mid-Atlantic region” by EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin in a news release. “Her expertise is also sought out in the development of national wetlands regulations,” Garvin said. “She’s advised and represented the agency in some of the most environmentally significant, legally complex, and politically sensitive water and wetlands matters, and her counsel on all these has been invaluable.” For full article, click here.
DE: Environmental Officials battle invasive rodent
By Calum McKinney – Delmarva Now – July 26, 2011
Officials are trying to prevent an orange-toothed invader from laying waste to Delaware's wetlands. Though only a few nutria have been sighted in Delaware, the rapidly reproducing rodents have the potential to explode in population -- as they did decades ago in Maryland to devastating effect. A non-native species imported to the U.S. as a potential fur source, nutria compete with muskrat for food and destroy vast swaths of marshy land when they feed in numbers. For full article, click here.
MS: New grant funds Gulf wetlands data collection
Contact: Jim Laird – Mississippi State University – July 25, 2011
A competitive funding grant from the Gulf Research Initiative is helping Mississippi State scientists collect important data about the status of salt marshes impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The nearly $81,000 stop-gap award will underwrite the project for three months until the consortium's larger grants reach researchers this fall. (For more about the GRI, click here.) For full Press Release, click here.
TN: Take a walk on the wild side
By Nancy DeGennaro – DNJ.com – July 25, 2011
Turtles, beavers and snakes, oh my, ducks, geese and herons that fly — you'll find all these creatures at the Murfree Spring Wetland, located in the heart of Murfreesboro. Learn all about this important ecosystem during Wetland Walks, held at 3:30 p.m. each Friday. Located adjacent to the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring at 502 S.E. Broad St., the wetland is just as much a part of the museum as the inside exhibits. For full article, click here.
MN/ND: Vicksburg, Miss., team cleaning up Minot, N.D., after devastating flood
By Shannon Bauer – DVDIS – July 23, 2011
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District's Debris Planning and Response Team is deployed to Minot, N.D., cleaning up the city and surrounding small towns after record flooding of the Souris River late June damaged more than 4,000 homes. The Federal Emergency Management Agency tasked the Corps of Engineers with removing debris and temporary levees built during the Souris River flood fight, as well as building group sites where temporary housing will be located for displaced residents. A team from St. Paul, Minn., is working on the housing sites. For full article, click here.
VA: Clean water: To save the Bay, we must work together
By Ann Jennings – Richmond Times Dispatch – July 22, 2011
The movers and shakers of Chesapeake Bay restoration got together recently in Richmond to update the public on the Bay cleanup effort. Present were the "big three" Bay state governors from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson; Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray; Chesapeake Bay Commission Chairman Michael Brubaker; and others. The official news from the meeting was upbeat: The Bay states are all generally on track to meet their first pollution reduction goals. These interim two-year goals, called milestones, are critical and make the new federal-state Bay cleanup initiative different — and much more promising — than past restoration agreements. For full article, click here.
WI: Rock-Koshkonong Lake District v. State Department of Natural Resources
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District IV. - July 21, 2011
This is an appeal of a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) order setting target water levels for Lake Koshkonong, an impounded lake on the Rock River. The Rock-Koshkonong Lake District, Rock River-Koshkonong Association, Inc. and Lake Koshkonong Recreational Association, Inc. (collectively, "the District") petitioned the DNR to raise the water levels of Lake Koshkonong. The DNR issued an order rejecting the petition, which was affirmed by an administrative law judge (ALJ) and the circuit court. For full opinion, click here.
LA: Levee armoring plans challenged by East Bank levee authority members
By Mark Schleifstein - The Times-Picayune – July 21, 2011
Members of the East Bank levee authority on Thursday raised objections to plans by the Army Corps of Engineers to use a combination of Bermuda grass, grass enhanced by fertilizer and irrigation, and fabric mats and grass to armor the interior sides of earthen levees in the New Orleans area. For full story, click here.
SC: Court rules on isolated wetlands
By Gina Vasselli – Post & Courier – July 16, 2011
A case involving less than a quarter-acre of land on Pawleys Island has set a new precedent for wetlands protection in South Carolina. A majority of the S.C. Supreme Court ruled this week that the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has jurisdiction over isolated wetlands, a reversal of the Georgetown County Circuit Court’s ruling and previous operating procedure. “A landmark decision,” said Amy Armstrong, director of the S.C. Environmental Law Project and a member of the Georgetown County League of Women Voters, which brought the suit against developer Smith Land Company. For full article, click here.
LA: Levee District to begin wetlands project
By Nikki Buskey – Daily Comet – July 14, 2011
The newly constructed six-mile section of exposed levee in lower Chauvin will soon be protected from erosion by a buffer of wetlands. The Terrebonne Levee District is bidding out construction on a dredging project that will fill in large open ponds of water that have formed from erosion between Bayou Terrebonne and Bayou Little Caillou below Bush Canal. “A lot of people think hurricanes are what destroy levees,” said Terrebonne Levee Director Reggie Dupre. “What really destroys levees is the everyday wave action beating up against them.” For full story, click here.
MO: Flood expert Galloway: Missouri River floodplain needs comprehensive plan
By Robert Koenig – Beacon Washington – July 11, 2011
When torrents of rain poured into the lower Mississippi River this spring, most of that record flow was contained by federal levees or diverted into floodways and spillways as part of a system focused on limiting flooding. In contrast, the relentless rain and snowmelt that surged into the upper Missouri River entered a far different system -- a series of reservoirs whose dams usually can be controlled like giant spigots -- that was designed not only to limit flooding but also to influence navigation, power generation, irrigation, recreation and wildlife. For full story, click here.
FL: Can Florida’s nature and people outrace sea-level rise?
By Robert Lalasz - Grist/Cool Green Science - July 10, 2011
Want to know how climate change might affect a seashore near you? Look at what it's already done over the past 20 years to a stretch of the Florida Gulf Coast, according to a pathbreaking new study published in the journal Climatic Change. Sea-level rise along the Waccasassa Bay area (90 miles north of Tampa) is already picking winners and losers in nature there -- and the losers include the habitat the iconic Florida black bear and the bald eagle depend upon. For full article, click here.
SC: Gold mine delays hiring of 200 workers until 2012
By Sammy Fretwell – The State – July 7, 2011A Canadian gold-mining company will put off hiring about 200 workers for its proposed mine in Lancaster County because environmental concerns have delayed the massive project. Romarco Minerals Inc. planned to begin hiring workers this summer to operate the mine and perform other tasks, but now the company won’t make the hires until 2012 at the earliest, said Jim Arnold, chief operating officer for the company. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided last week to conduct an environmental impact statement, a major report on the project’s potential effects on creeks and wetlands in the Kershaw area. For full story, click here.
NC: Levees hold as Souris River crests at historic high
By Geoff Davidian - Reuters - June 27, 2011
The Souris River crested to historic heights in North Dakota's fourth largest city of Minot early on Sunday, but emergency levees held providing respite to officials battling to keep areas dry. The Souris, which flows from Canada southeast into North Dakota, rose early on Sunday morning to almost four feet above the 130-year-old record it shattered on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. For full story, click here.
Wetland Science
VA: Scientists say wind reduces Chesapeake Bay dead zones
By Cory Nealon – Newport News – July 25, 2011
New research may suggest that wind plays a much larger role than previously thought in preventing oxygen-deprived dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay. Two key factors lead to dead zones, which are blamed for fish kills, beach closures and other maladies. One is pollution — from fertilizers, sewage and other sources — that runs into the bay and its tributaries. The other is a phenomena known as stratification. For full story, click here.
Alarming Dead Zone Grows in the Chesapeake
By Darryl Fears - Washington Post – July 24, 2011
A giant underwater “dead zone” in the Chesapeake Bay is growing at an alarming rate because of unusually high nutrient pollution levels this year, according to Virginia and Maryland officials. They said the expanding area of oxygen-starved water is on track to become the bay’s largest ever. This year’s Chesapeake Bay dead zone covers a third of the bay, stretching from the Baltimore Harbor to the bay’s mid-channel region in the Potomac River, about 83 miles, when it was last measured in late June. It has since expanded beyond the Potomac into Virginia, officials said. For full article, click here.
Green Deals: And Now for Blue Carbon
By Giles Parkinson - Climate Spectator - July 20, 2011
Researchers are pushing for a new category of carbon abatement – so called “blue carbon” sinks that focuses on mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses – to be included in the UN clean development mechanism, the principal form of international carbon credits that Australian businesses will likely seek to access from 2015. According to Point Carbon, researchers believe blue carbon sinks could stores up to 900 million tonnes of CO2-e a year. For full article, click here.
Professor Garners Award to Study Impacts from Oil Spill on the Gulf
July 18, 2011
Florida State University awarded VSU professor of biology, Dr. Jim Nienow, $10,921 for the project, “Effects of the BP oil spill on diatoms, nannoplankton, and related protists at the base of the food chain in the NE Gulf of Mexico.” The project, funded by BP through the Florida Institute of Oceanography, is collaborative effort among researchers from Florida State University, Mississippi State University, and Valdosta State. Nienow said he enjoys splitting his time between teaching undergraduate biology and conducting microbial ecology research in deserts, regional wetlands and waste-water treatment plants. Read more about Nienow's current research projects and interests. For press release, click here.
The Compleat Wetlander: Rethinking Floods — Can We Take Actions Now to Reduce Future Catastrophes?
By Jeanne Christie – The Compleat Wetlander – July 15, 2011
This has been a year of natural disasters here and abroad. The news has been filled with stories of tsunamis, droughts, wildfires, tornadoes and floods. Worldwide, 2011 is already the costliest year on record. Taken as a single event, the tornadoes this spring add up to the 5th costliest disaster in U.S. history with a $14 billion price tag. For full blog post, click here.
From wetland carbon to livelihoods carbon
By Francis Vorhies - Forbes Blog - July 6, 2011
Earlier this week, Danone (the giant French food products and packed water multinational) along with several other companies launched a new Livelihoods Fundto give investors “access to carbon credits with ‘strong social impact’.” [...] In addition to being a core investor in the new Livelihoods Funds, Danone also brings expertise and experience to the table from its 3-year Wetland Carbon Partnershipwith IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands Secretariat. Together Danone, IUCN and Ramsar developed a standard for wetland carbon as well as new mangrove carbon methodology approved by the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism. The Partnership also identified potential investment opportunities and in so doing raised awareness and interest in wetland carbon. For full blog post, click here.
Seeking water solutions amid climate change
Eco-Business – June 29, 2011
Water problems arising from climate change will be one of the key issues discussed at the fourth Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), which starts on Monday. Organisers of the global water platform for policy-makers, industry leaders and water experts have decided to focus on the theme of “Sustainable Water Solutions for a Changing Urban Environment”. And with climate change resulting in extreme weather conditions – severe flooding in some areas and drought in others – water solutions for affected regions will be highly sought after. The four-day event will also feature water solutions for industries and innovations developed in Singapore, as well as the very first South East Asia Water Ministers Forum. For full article, click here.
Potpouri
Duck Population on the Rise
By Bob Marshall – The Times-Picayune – July 17, 2011
The offseason for area duck hunters and other residents of coastal Louisiana continues on its schizophrenic way. The short-term news -- brought to you by Mother Nature -- keeps getter brighter. But the long-term picture -- crafted by the majority party in the House of Representatives -- keeps getter darker. The good news: A near-record number of ponds on the waterfowl breeding grounds produced by heavy spring rains have come through, and duck populations are soaring. For full story, click here.
Six reasons to be optimistic about Lake Ontario's future
By Leslie Scrivener - The Star - July 8, 2011
Walleye, sharp-toothed, gold and olive in colour, appear to be back in Lake Ontario, after decades of very low number. Lilies grow in wetlands that were once sodden mud flats. Shimmering fish sparkle beneath the water’s surface, tiny glimmers of hope that Lake Ontario can be renewed and return to full health again. They are signs that the fish, wildlife and birds that were extirpated — locally extinct — can return to make their home in and near the lake’s waters. The losses have been extreme. Nearly 60 per cent of original wetlands have been destroyed on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario, even more between Toronto and the Niagara River. In some parts of southwestern Ontario, the loss has reached 90 per cent, one of the highest rates in the world. For full article, click here.
A history lesson 20 feet below the Meadowlands
By Michael Lamendola - NorthJersey.com - July 7, 2011
A new scientific endeavor that will look underneath the Meadowlands for its results is gauged to tell researchers how the Meadowlands evolved over thousands of years and how it could possibly change again in the future. Researchers are hoping the study, a joint endeavor between the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI) and Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, may be a treasure trove of information on how changing climates affected the area in the past and help predict how it may in the future. It will also help environmentalists learn more about how to foster certain ecological habits that may be a tool in sequestering carbon dioxide...For full article, click here.
Meetings and Training
Michigan Stormwater Floodplain Association Annual Conference
The Michigan Stormwater Floodplain Association (MSFA) is pleased to announce that its commemorative 25th Annual Conference will be held February 29 to March 2, 2012. In order to provide a better service to the communities, consultants, and individuals who attend the conference, they are invited to submit ideas and requests for presentations. We are especially interested in providing presentations on topics that communities will find helpful as they deal with floodplain and stormwater management issues. Some general ideas for topics are listed, but feel free to submit any ideas related to floodplain or stormwater issues. Please submit your suggestions to Chris Rybak, Conference Committee Chair at
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by August 5, 2011.
15th National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference (2012)
The 2012 National Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Conference, scheduled for May 8-11, 2012, in Sacramento, California, is seeking presentations from experienced mitigation and conservation bankers, regulators, engineers, users, investors, builders and developers, environmental organizations, and others who have direct experience in the expanding mitigation and ecosystem banking industry. Celebrating its 15th Anniversary, this Conference was established an independent conference to foster improved communication and education within this growing industry, and remains the only national conference that brings together key regulators, bankers, users and providers of services in the mitigation, conservation and ecosystem banking marketplace. Come hear perspectives from bankers, regulators and users, get updated on regulations, rules and litigation, and participate in field trips and more. Presentation submissions due October 1, 2010. Click here or call (800) 726-4853, or email
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.
The Association of State Wetland Managers' Wetland Breaking News is a monthly e-newsletter. Wetland Breaking News is an edited compilation of wetland-related stories and announcements submitted by readers and gleaned from list-servs, press releases and news sources from throughout the United States. The e-newsletter features legislative, national and state news relevant to wetland science and policy, wetland regulations and legal analysis of Supreme court cases; it also links to new publications and resources available to wetland professionals as well as events and training opportunities for those working in water resources and related fields. Wetland Breaking News has been published for over ten years and ASWM has been a think-tank and source for wetland science and policy news and discussion for over 20 years.
The items presented in Wetland Breaking News do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or of the Association of State Wetland Managers. Send your news items, comments, corrections, or suggestions to
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"WETLAND BREAKING NEWS" Compiled and Edited by: Leah Stetson, ASWM; Executive Director: Jeanne Christie, ASWM
Association of State Wetland Managers, 32 Tandberg Trail, Ste. 2A, Windham, ME 04062. Telephone: 207-892-3399 Fax: 207-892-3089
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