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EDITOR'S NOTE

EDITOR'S CHOICE

• Extension Connections: Value of Coastal Wetlands
• Special Blog Feature: Jon Kusler, Esq. Ph.D. - Wetlands and Natural Hazards: Hurricane Irene
• Wetland Conservation Grants Approved, But Will There Be Funding?
• Receding Missouri River reveals badly damaged land
• CW: Help the Environment Help Us by Spending Less and Developing Perpetual Resources
• ID: Idaho Couple's Permit Fight Drags Wetlands Back to Supreme Court
• Memo to Congressional Super Committee
• Webinar: Community Resilience - Ecosystem-Based Adaptation
• BP Oil Spill Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement - Public Scoping Comment Summary
• Gulf of Mexico: Video shows oil still gushing amidst cover-up
• New USDA Report Highlights Successes of Wetlands Reserve Program
  
  

NATIONAL NEWS

• Hundreds of plants, animals up for new protections
• FWS Finds 374 Aquatic-dependent Species May Warrant Endangered Species Act Protection
• U.S. Senate EPW Committee Approves RESTORE Act
• EPA Allocates $6M to Hire Unemployed to Restore the Great Lakes
• Sacrifices needed from governors to avert floods
  
  

STATE NEWS

• WI: Wis. gov calls another legislative session on jobs
• WA: State adopts changes that protect financial assistance for local gov’t clean water projects
• AZ: USGS Study Designed to Help State Manage Groundwater
• LA: Company fined for wetlands violation
• MI: Wetlands revival money rains down 'for now' on Muskegon County
• LA: Acting Secretary Blank Announces $102 Million in Wetlands, Barrier Island Restoration Awards for Louisiana
• CA: A century later, Santa Cruz Island wetland to be restored
• WY: Study will provide data on wetlands in Upper Green River Basin
• MI: The Enbridge oil spill's effect on wetlands
• AR: President Clinton to Dedicate Bridge and Wetlands Park, Sept. 30
• OH: Feds to contribute millions to protecting Northeast Ohio wetlands
• NJ: O’Connor to Retire; Wetlands Institute Names Tedesco Executive Director
  
• WI: Court rules for Wis. AG in dispute with construction company
• FL: Map of the Proposed Everglades Headwaters NWR Study Area
• LA: Most Americans say saving coast is federal government’s responsibility
• MI: Spring floods could impact early goose season
• IL: Into the Outdoors: Budget cuts affecting nature
• FL: Wetlands: Losing More at What Cost?
  
• MI: DEQ says flooded farm is protected wetland
• NH: Dealership dredging wetlands despite order to cease, says city

RESOURCES & PUBLICATIONS

• NOAA Roadmap Tool in Context:  Climate Preparedness in Coastal New Hampshire
• CanVis, Digital Coast, NOAA Coastal Services
• Sedimentation of Nebraska’s Playa Wetlands
• Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange
  
  

WETLAND SCIENCE

• The Big Payback from Bringing Back Peat Bogs
• Pew's Boreal Forest Tour Showcased at Google Earth Canada Launch
• Farmers use dams to keep water on land
  
  

POTPOURRI

• Goose Pond film gets high marks following preview showing
• New County Maps Show Playa Locations
• Gulf Research Pilot Troubled by Oil Sighting in Macondo Prospect
• Turning Lake Winnipeg pollution into profit
• Irene, Irene, best reason for restoring wetlands I've ever seen
• Drain on the Plain: Tracing our Flooding woes...
  

MEETINGS AND TRAINING

• Reminder: Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Call for Presentations Due Oct. 1
• Webinar: Community Resilience - Ecosystem-Based Adaptation
• MI: Great Lakes Week to be Covered and Broadcast via Public Television
• Focus on Diversity: Changing the Face of American Birding
• 'Wetlands in Your Woodlot' seminar set for Clayton, NJ
• Bird Conservation Issues before the U.S. Senate
  
  

Editor's Note

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Next month, WBN will have a new look —as it appears in email— but it will remain the same on the aswm.org website. We are switching to a new email program for sending out our newsletters because the previous tool did not work consistently (and that was frustrating to me, your meticulous editor). As always, I will include just the link to the current issue, the index and a note. Readers will still have to visit our website to read the full issue of Wetland Breaking News, as usual.

For those of you tweeting about wetlands and related topics, I invite you to follow @StrangeWetlands on Twitter. I post links to new ASWM publications and projects, wetland news stories, blog posts and other tidbits. In the last few weeks, @StrangeWetlands has gained 25 followers—including a whale shark, a national park and a professional mermaid. On Twitter, I see additional wetland stories and videos like the one about the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park at Ohio State University with an interview with Dr. Bill Mitsch (now on our “About Wetlands” page: http://aswm.org/wetlands/about-wetlands) or updates about ongoing restoration projects, such as the tidal marsh restoration project at the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

ASWM has joined the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) and we have added to our climate change adaptation webpage by posting links to new tools, publications and a series of State Climate Change Adaptation Summaries here. Other wetlands & climate change information can be found on the website, including sea level rise tools and publications about carbon sequestration. If there is a climate change adaptation tool or project that should be added to our webpage, please send me the details to post - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This month, ASWM published the final report, “Wetland Mapping: 2010 Wetland Mapping Summary” by Will Walker, ASWM. There is a clickable map with state summaries for each state that participated in the project, which took a snapshot of wetland mapping efforts underway throughout the U.S. Learn more at: http://aswm.org/wetland-science/wetland-mapping/1220-2010-wetland-mapping-summary

There are also a number of new titles added to the Wetland Bookshelf and new opportunities posted on the Wetland Jobs board. Be sure to check those out if you’re hunting for wetland-related “new releases” or the latest jobs.

Thanks to Ted LaGrange of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and to my new friends on Twitter, for suggested stories in this issue of WBN.

Happy Autumn.

Leah Stetson
Editor, Wetland Breaking News

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Extension Connections: Value of Coastal Wetlands

By Brooke Saari – Crestview News Bulletin – September 29, 2011
Putting a value on an ecosystem or the services it provides is very difficult. However, it is done all the time on smaller scales, like the selling of land. Each of us places different values on ecosystems such as the Gulf of Mexico, but the economic value is clear. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service 2008 Fisheries Economics of the United States regional report, the gross domestic product for the Gulf of Mexico totaled $2.35 trillion in 2007. In 2008, Florida generated more than $5.7 billion in sales, 108,600 jobs, and $3.1 billion income impacts due to the fishing industry in the gulf. More than 54,600 jobs were supported in West Florida alone as part of the recreational fishing industry. For full story, go to: http://www.crestviewbulletin.com/news/value-15479-ecosystem-very.html

Special Blog Feature - Jon Kusler, Esq. Ph.D.: Wetlands and Natural Hazards: Devastation from Hurricane Irene

By Jon Kusler – The Compleat Wetlander – September 26, 2011
As we all know, riverine and estuarine wetlands are often severe natural flood and erosion hazard areas. The photos in this blog post are from Berne, New York, where ASWM maintains its New York office. […] During the week of August 25th, more than 10½ inches of rain from the remnants of Hurricane Irene fell on the Fox Creek watershed. For full blog post, click here.

Wetland Conservation Grants Approved, But Will There Be Funding?

By Ducks Unlimited - AmmoLand.com - September 23, 2011
The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission recently awarded seven grants for projects that will restore and protect vital waterfowl habitat across the Southeast. The grants are being awarded through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), which is a cost-effective, bipartisan, match-based program that has raised an average of 3.2 non-federal dollars for every federal dollar invested. “Though the MBCC has approved these grants, Congress must still authorize funding for NAWCA in order for the projects to move forward,” Director of Operations for DU’s Southern Region Curtis Hopkins explained. For full article, click here.

Receding Missouri River reveals badly damaged land

By Josh Funk – The Wichita Eagle – September 23, 2011
As the Missouri River slowly recedes, farmers seeing their fields for the first time since June are encountering sand dunes, strange debris and deep gouges the floodwaters carved into their once-fertile land. The soil quality has also been diminished because the floodwaters killed off many of the microbes that help crops grow and compacted the soil. Officials don't expect the Missouri to fully return to its banks until October, so farmers already busy with the fall harvest will have little time to rehab their fields before the onset of winter. Plus, farmers must wait for fields to dry out before doing any significant work with heavy equipment. For full story, go to: http://www.kansas.com/2011/09/23/2029167/receding-missouri-river reveals.html#ixzz1ZLzO7YFX

Compleat Wetlander: Help the Environment Help Us by Spending Less and Developing Perpetual Resources

By Jeanne Christie – The Compleat Wetlander – September 22, 2011
As the federal fiscal year draws to a close, the federal government has a $1.65 trillion deficit and $14.6 trillion in debt.  Lawmakers are looking for ways to cut expenditures.  Frequently when funding is cut, environmental programs are identified as an area that provides opportunities to significantly reduce spending.   Some lawmakers also believe less monitoring, less regulating and less enforcement will reduce government spending and accelerate economic growth. For full blog post, click here.

ID: Idaho Couple's Permit Fight Drags Wetlands Back to Supreme Court

By Lawrence Hurley – Greenwire/NY Times – September 19, 2011
Sitting unobtrusively across the road from a pristine lake in the northern Idaho panhandle, the half-acre lot covered with weeds and piles of gravel isn't much to look at. And yet, in a few months' time, the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will decide its fate. For four years the land has sat idle while its owners, Mike and Chantell Sackett, have been locked in a fight with U.S. EPA. What started as a routine disagreement about whether the Sacketts needed a Clean Water Act permit to build their dream home on the site has morphed into a high-stakes legal battle that has reached the nation's highest court. Sackett v. EPA, which is likely to be argued in January, is one of two environmental cases the court has on its docket for the 2011 term, which begins Oct. 3. The other is PPL Montana v. Montana (Greenwire http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2011/06/20/15, June 20). Sitting in the office at his contracting and excavation business in the village of Priest Lake, just down the road from the disputed site, Mike Sackett cannot quite believe what's happened. "What are two people from northern Idaho doing going to the Supreme Court?" the jovial 45-year-old said, shaking his head. "It's overwhelming." For full story, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/09/19/19greenwire-idaho-couples-permit-fight-drags-wetlands-back-31906.html?pagewanted=all

Memo to Congressional Super Committee

Green Scissors – August 24, 2011
Ending a third of a trillion dollars in environmentally harmful subsidies could go a long way toward solving our nation’s budget challenges, an unusual right-left coalition said today in a groundbreaking report. The report — “Green Scissors 2011” — provides a roadmap to saving up to $380 billion over five years by curbing wasteful spending that harms the environment. That amounts to a full quarter of the savings the new congressional Super Committee has been charged with obtaining, in half the time. For full details on the report, go to http://www.greenscissors.com. For the rest of the memo, click here.

Webinar: Community Resilience - Ecosystem-Based Adaptation

October 5, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (eastern). This presentation will highlight the four-step process of The Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Resilience project, which includes awareness, risk, choice, and action. This approach focuses on the need to tailor options to fit the varying needs and pace of different communities. The case studies that will be presented focus on communities that have moved beyond the awareness phase in the process to assessing vulnerability and developing options for future action. In this webinar, participants will learn about the four steps of The Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Resilience approach; ecosystem-based management approaches that communities are choosing to implement when addressing coastal resilience issues; challenges that other communities have faced when adapting to coastal risk; and flexible options that can be built into adaptation plans. To register for the Coastal Resilience webinar, and to learn more about upcoming events in the Digital Coast webinar series, click here.

BP Oil Spill Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement - Public Comment Summary

NOAA - September 2011
Natural resource trustees, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of the Interior, and trustee agencies from the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, are leading efforts to assess and restore affected Gulf resources. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) is the process used to evaluate the impacts to natural resources and lost human use of those resources. The trustees continue to collect information on natural resources to assess potential impacts to fish, shellfish, marine mammals, turtles, birds, and other sensitive resources, as well as their habitat (e.g., wetlands, beaches, and coral). Lost recreational human uses, such as fishing, hunting, and beach enjoyment also are being assessed. For full report, go to: http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PEISCommentSummary_FINAL_web.pdf

Gulf of Mexico: Video shows oil still gushing amidst cover-up

The Canadian - September 22, 2011
NaturalNews - Roughly a year and a half after the BP oil disaster left the Gulf of Mexico saturated with crude oil and toxic Corexit chemicals, new evidence has surfaced showing what appears to be more crude oil spewing into the ocean. Raw Story explains that Dr. Bonny Schumaker, founder of OnWingsOfCare.org, a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting and preserving wildlife and the environment, recently spotted a ten-mile-long oil slick near the BP Macondo oil well that was supposedly capped shut.  On September 18, 2010, The Washington Post reported that the BP Macondo oil well was officially dead, adding the US government's declaration that the well was "physically incapable of leaking another drop (of oil)" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...). But Dr. Schumaker's stunning flyover suggests otherwise, revealing what appears to be endless, wispy streams of oil continuing to trail through Gulf waters.  For full story with video, click here.

New USDA Report Highlights Successes of Wetlands Reserve Program

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition blog - August 23, 2011
On Monday, August 22, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released a new publication highlighting the success of the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) over its 20-year history. The Wetlands Reserve Program - According to the report, more than half of all wetland acres in the continental United States have been lost.  In some states, this number is as high as 90 percent.  Given that 70 percent of wetlands are on private lands, farmers and other private landowners play a central role in conserving those that remain. The WRP provides this opportunity.  Over the program’s 20 years, more than 11,000 private landowners have enrolled 2.3 million acres in the WRP.  As the report states, “the voluntary nature of WRP allows effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.” For full blog post, click here

National News

Hundreds of plants, animals up for new protections

By Matthew Brown – San Francisco Chronicle – September 29, 2011
The Obama administration is taking steps to extend new federal protections to a list of imperiled animals and plants that reads like a manifest for Noah's Ark — from the melodic golden-winged warbler and slow-moving gopher tortoise, to the slimy American eel and tiny Texas kangaroo rat. With a Friday deadline to act on more than 700 pending cases, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service already has issued decisions advancing more than 500 species toward potential new protections under the Endangered Species Act. "Here at a single glance, you see the sweep of the Endangered Species Act," said Patrick Parenteau, an environmental law professor at the University of Vermont. "They are moving through this large backlog at a fairly crisp clip now. This is the largest number of listing actions we've seen in a very long time, in decades." For full story, go to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/09/29/national/a000220D87.
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EPA Announces the HWI National Framework and Action Plan, 2011

EPA Press Release – September 27, 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the release of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI) National Framework and Action Plan.  The HWI is intended to protect the nation’s remaining healthy watersheds, prevent them from becoming impaired, and accelerate restoration successes.  The HWI National Framework and Action Planaims to provide a clear consistent framework for action, both internally among EPA’s own programs and externally in working with the Agency’s partners.  EPA will work with states and other partners to identify healthy watersheds at the state scale and develop and implement comprehensive state healthy watersheds strategies that set priorities for protection and inform priorities for restoration.Healthy watersheds provide many ecological services as well as economic benefits.  If successfully implemented, the HWI promises to greatly enhance our nation’s ability to meet the Clean Water Act Section 101(a) objective of restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.  For the HWI National Framework and Action Plan, click here.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Finds 374 Aquatic-dependent Species May Warrant Endangered Species Act Protection

Contact: Vanessa Kauffman – FWS News Release – September 26, 2011
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will conduct an in-depth status review of 374 rare southeastern aquatic, riparian and wetland animal and plant species to determine if any or all of them warrant federal protection as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service made this decision, commonly known as a 90-day finding, after reviewing a petition seeking to add a total of 404 species to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and analyzing information about these species in its files. While this initial review found evidence to suggest that ESA protection may be warranted for 374 of these species, the Service will now undertake a more thorough status review before determining whether to propose any of them for listing. For full news release, go to: http://us.vocuspr.com/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=fws&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=128444&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=True

U.S. Senate EPW Committee Approves RESTORE Act

CSO Weekly Report - September 23, 2011
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved the “Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourism Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act” (RESTORE Act - S. 1400) on Sept. 21st and reported the bill to the full Senate for consideration. The RESTORE Act would establish a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, which would dedicate funding to address the ecological and economic damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. At least 80 percent of all civil penalties paid by BP or any other responsible party in connection with the spill will be deposited into the Trust Fund. The bill would also establish a Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, a Comprehensive Plan for the Gulf Coast, a Long Term Science and Fisheries Endowment, and Gulf Coast Centers of Excellence. In addition, the bill as amended would require 50 percent of the interest earned by the trust fund, and proceeds from investments made by the fund in the preceding fiscal year, to be transferred to a National Endowment for the Oceans. The endowment would be used to make grants to regional ocean and coastal planning entities, to allocate funds to coastal states, and to develop and implement a national grant program for oceans and coastal waters. The funds could only be used for grants for activities to restore, protect or maintain living marine resources and their habitats in oceans and coastal waters. To read full CSO Weekly Report, click here.

EPA Allocates $6M to Hire Unemployed to Restore the Great Lakes

Contact:  Phillippa Cannon – EPA Press Release – August 23, 2011
On August 23, EPA announced that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative program will set aside approx. $6 million to sign up unemployed workers for the ecological restoration of the Great Lakes during fiscal years 2010 through 2014, in five urgent areas: 1) Cleaning up toxics and toxic hot spot areas of concern, 2) Combating invasive species, 3) Promoting near-shore health by protecting watersheds from polluted run-off, 4) Restoring wetlands/habitats, 5) Tracking progress, education and working with strategic partners. For more information, click  here. To read full press release, click here.

Sacrifices needed from governors to avert floods

By John Hanna – The Daily News – August 23, 2011
Months of historic flooding have governors along the Missouri River ready to join forces, but experts warn that real change will require unpopular sacrifices and a new approach to controlling the nation's longest river.  Releasing water from reservoirs earlier and allowing the river to expand naturally would solve many of the problems, but there's a tradeoff: Doing so could push fishermen out of Montana's prized streams earlier, force farmers from the Dakotas to Missouri to give up land for floodplains, and limit barges hauling grain and other goods.  Governors from most of the eight river states will meet Friday in Omaha, Neb., to discuss options for keeping the river in its banks. Brigadier Gen. John R. McMahon, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers northwest district, also will attend, but agency spokeswoman Sarah Rivette cautioned against demanding sweeping changes based on one flood season.  For full story, go to: http://thedailynewsonline.com/myweather/article_39ec8d2e-cb8e-11e0-a6f5-001cc4c03286.html

State News

WI: Wis. gov calls another legislative session on jobs

Chicago Tribune News – September 28, 2011
Gov. Scott Walker has called another special legislative session on jobs. The governor called a similar special session on the day he took office in January. He says he wants to send another message that he remains focused on getting people back to work. The agenda includes bills designed to free up investment capital, streamline wetland permits, create temporary electric rates and reform litigation procedures. For full story, go to: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-wisconsinjobs,0,4034719.story

WA: State adopts changes that protect financial assistance for local government clean water projects

Washington Dept. of Ecology – September 28, 2011
After completing a public process, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has adopted changes to rules that govern the Washington State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund (Revolving Fund) Program. The Revolving Fund provides financial assistance to local governments for wastewater treatment construction projects, for projects that control polluted runoff and other diffuse sources of pollution, and for other projects that protect clean water.  For Final adopted rule: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/laws-rules/wac17398/1014.html Department of Ecology Water Quality Program Financial Assistance website: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/funding/funding.html Or visit: http://www.ecy.wa.gov

AZ: USGS Study Designed to Help State Manage Groundwater

By Teri Walker – Arizona Journal – September 28, 2011
This is the first of a three-part series on groundwater usage in Arizona. The first article in the series focuses on a new study tool to manage groundwater usage in the state’s most populous regions. The second article will report on the status and operations of the Coconino aquifer, which is the primary groundwater source for northern Arizona. The third article will explore typical water usage for potash mining operations and concerns of landowners near potential potash mining in the Holbrook Basin. Since 1940, groundwater in Arizona’s alluvial basins has been depleted by more than 74.5 million acre-feet, or about three times the maximum storage of Lake Powell, according to a study unveiled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) last week. For full story, go to: http://www.azjournal.com/2011/09/28/usgs-study-designed-to-help-state-manage-groundwater/

LA: Company fined for wetlands violation

Shreveport Times – September 27, 2011
An oil and gas company working in the Haynesville Shale region has paid a $67,200 fine imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for filling in wetlands without authorization. The actions of Camterra Resources Inc., of Marshall, Texas, were in violation of the Clean Water Act, according to an EPA news release Monday. The violation occurred in the fall of 2008 when Camterra, a natural gas exploration and production company, began filling in 33 acres of wetlands in Caddo and DeSoto parishes without authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  For full story, go to: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110927/NEWS01/
109270317/Company-fined-wetlands-violation

MI: Wetlands revival money rains down 'for now' on Muskegon County

By John Hausman – Muskegon Chronicle – September 27, 2011
After many years of funding drought, a gentle rain has been falling on Muskegon County's damaged wetlands the last couple of years. It probably won't last. So environmental groups are doing what they can to restore the wetlands that nourish Mona, White and Muskegon lakes before the money dries up again. The stakes of success include stopping toxic algae blooms, restoring fish and wildlife populations and boosting public recreation opportunities on those lakes, all of which empty into Lake Michigan. For full story, click here. For related video, click here.

LA: Acting Secretary Blank Announces $102 Million in Wetlands, Barrier Island Restoration Awards for Louisiana

U.S. Dept. of Commerce News Release – September 27, 2011
Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank today announced $102 million for three Louisiana projects in the Barataria and Terrebone basins, to restore deteriorated wetlands and barrier island habitats along the state’s coast. These awards are funded by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) program.  U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Director Garret Graves and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Project Director Bobby Guichet also participated in the announcement. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Weeks Marine have been contracted to restore beach, dune and marsh on Pelican Island in Plaquemines Parish, and West Belle Pass barrier headland in Lafourche Parish, respectively. For full news release, go to: http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2011/09/27/acting-secretary-blank-announces-102-million-wetlands-barrier-island-

CA: A century later, Santa Cruz Island wetland to be restored

Los Angeles Times blog – September 27, 2011
A major restoration project could bring back a long-degraded wetland to one of the remote islands off the Southern California coast. Workers have broken ground on a $1-million project that will cut down 1,800 nonnative eucalyptus trees and scoop out loads of dirt and gravel to restore a coastal wetland on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park officials announced Monday. In the coming months, crews will work to return some 60 acres of habitat on the rugged island to the way it was before being degraded by ranching and farming activity more than a century ago.
Crews have started using heavy equipment to reshape the mouth of the island’s largest stream so it will flow freely onto 4 acres of restored wetland at Prisoners Harbor. The anchorage on the north side of the island was once home to the largest coastal wetland in Channel Islands National Park, an archipelago of five ecologically distinct islands that are sometimes referred to as North America’s Galapagos. For full blog post, visit: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/100-years-later-channel-island-wetlands-to-be-restored-.html#more For related story, click here. Starting a Swamp: http://independent.com/news/2011/sep/27/starting-swamp/

WY: Study will provide data on wetlands in Upper Green River Basin

The Republic – September 25, 2011
The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $98,000 grant to study wetlands in Wyoming.  The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is conducting the study in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. The two-year study will provide data on wetland conditions in the Upper Green River Basin for future wetland protection and restoration efforts.  This information will expand upon a basic statewide wetland assessment completed by both organizations in 2010. For story, go to: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d16071160dfa4e389184929b831f04b3/WY--Wetlands-Study/

MI: The Enbridge oil spill's effect on wetlands

By Rebecca Williams - Michigan Radio – September 2011
It’s been more than a year since a pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy ruptured. More than 843,000 gallons of tar sands oil spilled into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. The Environmental Protection Agency says much of that oil has been removed from the creek and the river. But the EPA says there are still close to one hundred areas of submerged oil on the bottom of the river. Enbridge is now working to remove that oil. For full story, click here.

AR: President Clinton to Dedicate Bridge and Wetlands Park, Sept. 30

By Katherina Yancy - KATV (Arkansas) - September 16, 2011
President Bill Clinton will be in Little Rock Sept. 30-Oct. 2 for the dedication of the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge and the William E. "Bill" Clark Wetlands. President Clinton and Governor Mike Beebe will dedicate the bridge and surrounding wetlands during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 30, at 11 a.m. Events will take place in Celebration Circle in front of the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. The wetlands open to the public immediately afterwards, while the bridge will be accessible until 2 p.m. It officially opens at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2. For full story, click here.

OH: Feds to contribute millions to protecting Northeast Ohio wetlands

By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn - The News-Herald - September 16, 2011
A federally backed million-dollar project will seek to protect wetlands in Northeast Ohio. Among the local participants are the Geauga Park District, the Cleveland Museum of Natural Resources and the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. The grantee of the project is Ducks Unlimited. The federal funding, recently approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, is being supplemented by funds from conservation partners to support the project.  The Northeast Ohio Wetlands Project enfolds Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Trumbull counties. In all, $1 million in federal funds and $2.7 million in local and private foundation matching funds will be used on the project.  For full story, click here.

NJ: O’Connor to Retire; Wetlands Institute Names Tedesco Executive Director

Cape May County Herald – September 6, 2011
Lenore P. Tedesco, a professor of earth science and director of the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Ind. has been named executive director at the Wetlands Institute. Dr. Tedesco will begin her Wetlands Institute career in October upon the retirement of Cindy O'Connor who has served as the executive director for 27 years. In announcing O'Connor's retirement, Wayne Renneisen, chairman of the board of trustees at the Wetlands Institute, detailed a list of accomplishments under her leadership that includes membership growth from 250 members to 3,000, a nationally recognized terrapin conservation program, increased visits from students and the acclaimed Wings n' Water Festival. For full story, click here.

WI: Court rules for Wis. AG in dispute with construction company

By Bryan Cohen – Legal Newsline – September 6, 2011
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced on Tuesday that the Waukesha County circuit court had entered a judgment against a construction co. and its owner over alleged wetlands violations. Berg Construction Inc. and owner Cheryl A. Berg allegedly began grading approximately six acres of land owned by Berg without first applying for a construction site erosion control and storm water discharge permit and without first putting in place best management practices to prevent discharges of sediment to waters of the state. For full article, click here.

FL: Map of the Proposed Everglades Headwaters NWR Study Area

By Karen Bellville Beaman - Orlando Sentinel - September 4, 2011
Map of the proposed Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge Study Area and the Wetlands Reserve Program -- Fisheating Creek Project (For map, click here.) Federal authorities want to protect wetlands and wildlife in the watershed that flows south from Orlando to the Everglades. For full story, click here. For a related story, click here.

LA: Most Americans say saving coast is federal government’s responsibility

By Nikki Buskey – Houma Today – September 4, 2011
A new national poll shows that 91 percent of Americans believe the Gulf Coast is vital to the nation’s economy and domestic energy security and that more money should be invested in coastal restoration. Ninety percent of those polled said protecting parts of the Gulf Coast that supply energy to the country should be the responsibility of the federal government.  The America’s Wetland Foundation commissioned the poll, conducted earlier this month by The Kitchens Group, a Florida-based national market research firm. For full story, go to: http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20110904/ARTICLES/110909839/1026/sitemaps

MI: Spring floods could impact early goose season

By Victor Skinner – Grand Rapids Press/Mlive.com – August 28, 2011
State wildlife officials are anticipating a favorable early goose season next month despite heavy rains and flooding that likely impacted reproduction of local birds this spring. Barbara Avers, waterfowl and wetland specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said the estimated native Canadian goose population has declined significantly since last year, down to about 175,000 birds from more than 300,000 in 2010. The drop is a combined result of several factors, including spring floods that likely destroyed nests this spring, she said. For full story, go to: http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2011/08/spring_floods_could_impact_ear.html

IL: Into the Outdoors: Budget cuts affecting nature

By Steve Rogers (Opinion) – Morris Daily Herald – August 27, 2011
My in-laws have some good friends that live in England. This last summer those friends traveled across the Atlantic to spend some time with Nana and Papa while they spent their summer working at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colo. We heard a lot about their visit, but there was one statement that really struck me.  These friends from England were awestruck at how “vast” America is. Every time they visit here they are overwhelmed by the sheer size of this country. The open spaces are something that they do not have in England. Will America always be this fortunate, though? For full opinion article, go to: http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/articles/2011/08/27/19637928/index.xml

FL: Wetlands: Losing More at What Cost?

By John Rehill – Bradenton Times – August 27, 2011
You don't have to be an environmentalist, a water works superintendent, or a marine biologist to be concerned about our water, where it comes from and how we can keep a fresh supply. One thing we all have in common is that we all need clean water to maintain a robust and healthy life. It's said, the wars of the future will be fought over water, not oil. Which stands to reason, because we can't live without it. Water is life, that's why if it's found on mars or the moon, that would substantiate the possibility for those environments to sustain life. We might need experts to help us protect it, but we don't need them to tell us of its significance. Mankind does not exist without a viable water supply -- period. For full article, go to: http://www.thebradentontimes.com/news/2011/08/27/environment/wetlands_losing_more_at_what_cost/

MI: DEQ says flooded farm is protected wetland

By Dennis Pelham – Lenconnect.com – August 27, 2011
Wetland regulations will not permit a flooded farm on Sandy Beach Road to be drained. Farm owners Leonard and Sharon Gust are suing the Lenawee County Road Commission to restore a steel pipe under the road they claim has caused their land to flood. The lawsuit is now before the Michigan Court of Appeals, where a decision is expected this fall.  Nearly half of the Gusts’ 20-acre parcel on the north side of Sandy Beach Road is under water.  For full story, click  here.

NH: Dealership dredging wetlands despite order to cease, says city

By Elizabeth Dinan – Seacoast Online – August 26, 2011
Days before Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the area, Toyota dealer Jim Boyle dredged soil using heavy equipment in and around wetlands behind his 150 Greenleaf Avenue dealership, according to city officials. Without city permits or approval, Boyle continued “dredging and filling” on Friday, redirecting “a large volume of water,” after he was issued a cease-and-desist order on Thursday, said City Attorney Robert Sullivan. In response, the city filed a motion in Rockingham County Superior Court seeking an order barring Boyle from further earth-moving on the site, with the exception of erosion control.  For full article, go to: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20110826-NEWS-110829767

RESOURCES & PUBLICATIONS

NOAA Roadmap Tool in Context:  Climate Preparedness in Coastal New Hampshire

By Chris Keeley – Clean Air, Cool Planet – September 2011
This report is one of a series dealing with different aspects of community climate preparedness developed and published by Clean Air-Cool Planet as part of our Northeast Climate Preparedness Initiative (NECPI).  CA-CP’s NECPI is a multi-year effort to strengthen the capacity of local governments, the private sector, NGOs, and the science community to work together to improve community resilience and quality of life and address, in particular, the issues that arise from a changing climate.  These may include sea-level rise, more intense precipitation, or in some cases drought, public and veterinary health issues associated with higher temperatures, among others. For full report, go to: http://www.cakex.org/sites/default/files/NOAA%20Roadmap%20Tool%20in%20Context_CA-CP_2011.pdf

CanVis, Digital Coast, NOAA Coastal Services

NOAA's Digital Coast, Coastal Services Center has developed a sea level rise tool called CanVis. CanVis is a visualization program used to "see" potential impacts from coastal development or sea level rise. Users can download background pictures and insert the objects (hotel, house, marina, or other objects) of their choosing. The software is used by municipalities to brainstorm new ideas and policies, undertake project planning, and make presentations. For more information, click here. For other Digital Coast tools, click here.

Sedimentation of Nebraska’s Playa Wetlands

Nebraska Game & Parks has published a new report, Sedimentation of Nebraska's Playa Wetlands - A Review of Current Knowledge and Issues. This document describes Nebraska's playa wetlands, discusses the process of sedimentation of playas, summarizes data on historic and recent wetland soil profiles, describes the impact that culturally accelerated sedimentation has on numerous wetland functions, and provides recommendations on restoration considerations. Many depressional wetlands, such as Nebraska's playas, are now embedded in agricultural landscapes where tillage of their watershed leads to increased surface runoff and sediment inputs relative to a grassland condition. To learn more and to download the full report, click here. Or click here to go directly to the report.

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange

Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) is a joint project of Island Press and EcoAdapt. It is aimed at building a shared knowledge base for managing natural systems in the face of rapid climate change. CAKE brings together EcoAdapt’s recognized leadership in developing the concepts and practices of climate adaptation with Island Press’s 27 years as the leading publisher of solutions-based environmental information to offer the most valuable, up-to-date, and authoritative materials on the subject. Join the community, explore a virtual library, tap into tools and a directory of organizations doing work on climate change adaptation (including ASWM), sign up for CAKE newsletters, or follow CAKE on Twitter. For more information, visit http://cakex.org

Wetland Science

The Big Payback from Bringing Back Peat Bogs

By Fred Pearce – Yale Environment 360 Blog – September 28, 2011
The draining and burning of peat bogs is a major global source of CO2 emissions. Now, a pilot project in Russia - where wildfires burned vast areas of dried-out bogs last summer - is looking to re-flood and restore tens of thousands of acres to their natural state. Wild fires that swept across Russia during the record heat wave last summer wrecked crops, triggered a global surge in wheat prices, caused pitch-black smogs that killed thousands of people and - though not much noted at the time - poured huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The gas came mainly from burning peat in wide areas of drained bogs around Moscow.  The world had seen nothing like it since peat bogs burned in Indonesia in 1998, shrouding neighboring countries in smoke for weeks. The Moscow fires were a stark reminder that peat bogs are the third greatest source of CO2 emissions - after burning fossil fuels and deforestation. For full blog post, go to: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/idUS118644585520110928 To visit the Yale blog, go to: http://e360.yale.edu/

Pew's Boreal Forest Tour Showcased at Google Earth Canada Launch

PR Newswire – September 28, 2011
In just three minutes, participants at today's Google Earth Outreach Canada launch will get a nonstop, coast-to-coast, interactive experience with the earth's "green halo," the boreal forest. The Pew Environment Group tour lets anyone with a computer hover over the vast northern forests and waterways to learn about an ecosystem that stores twice as much carbon per acre as tropical rainforests, holds more freshwater than any other continental-scale ecosystem and teems with wildlife. For full story, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pews-boreal-forest-tour-showcased-at-google-earth-canada-launch-130733833.html

Sarasota and Manatee Counties Partner to Develop Sea Level Rise Tool

Sarasota Bay Estuary Program News - September 1, 2011
The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP), one of the EPA National Estuary Programs, and partners from Sarasota County and Manatee County (FL) are in the unique position to start looking at and planning for the potential impacts of sea level rise along the coast. To start a dialog and help with future planning, SBEP has created a Sea Level Rise web map tool for residents and planners. The tool illustrates the scale of potential flooding as a planning reference tool. For more information, click here.

Farmers use dams to keep water on land

By Bartley Kives - Winnipeg Free Press - August 29, 2011 (CAN)
For the past 26 years, about 150 property owners around this tiny south-central Manitoba hamlet have chosen to add something to their land most farmers are trying to remove. Since 1985, members of the Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association have built 50 small dams on the Manitoba Escarpment in an effort to prevent water from flowing off their properties and racing to the bottom of the escarpment, about 200 metres below. Some of the structures are simple earthen berms designed to hold snowmelt or runoff from summer rainstorms for a few days. Others are back-flood dams designed to submerge large acreages at a shallow depth for a few weeks, in order to increase soil moisture. For full story, click here.

Climate-change science makes for hot politics

By Joel Achenbach and Juliet Eilperin - Washington Post - August 19, 2011 Four years ago in New Hampshire, campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain said to voters, “I do agree with the majority of scientific opinion, that climate change is taking place and it’s a result of human activity, which generates greenhouse gases.” He made global warming a key element of every New Hampshire stump speech. This week in New Hampshire, the governor of Texas and newest presidential contender, Rick Perry, said scientists have manipulated data to support their “unproven” theory of human-influenced global warming. He said increasing numbers of scientists have disavowed the theory altogether. For full story, click here.

Potpourri 

Goose Pond film gets high marks following preview showing

By Nick Schneider - Greene County Daily World - September 23, 2011
More than 30 people were interviewed for the new documentary "Goose Pond: The Story of a Wetland and Its Neighbors," produced by Linton native Bill Barnes. Some of the Greene County folks, conservationists, birdwatchers, educators, government officials and behind-the-scenes proponents of the massive wetlands project over the last 10 years, who appear in the film, attended a private viewing at Carnegie Arts & Heritage Center of Greene County in Linton on Thursday night. They were pleased with the way the film turned out. Jim Fields, a retired teacher and former neighbor of the Goose Pond/Bee Hunter March project, called the film "top notch." Fields said he wasn't really against the project when talk started about it decade ago.

"I had seen the farming just fail, fail and fail so I could no longer be in favor of that. I saw the cattle fail,' Fields said. Bill McCoy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project manager -- who's currently in charge of the Patoka Lake FWA project -- was one of the early proponents who worked with Vincennes-area farmer Ray McCormick to contact former landowner Maurice Wilder about selling the property. For full story, click here.

New County Maps Show Playa Locations

Playa Lakes Joint Venture Newsletter – September 2011
Wondering how many playas are in your backyard? Playa Lakes Joint Venture has released updated maps that pinpoint the locations of more than 75,000 playas in counties across the PLJV region. Land managers and landowners can use these maps to locate playas in a specific location and see how playas are distributed throughout their county. The new maps were created with Version 4 of the Probable Playas spatial data layer and are available for download as PDFs from the PLJV website. Multiple sources of geographic data went into making the maps, including the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI), Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database and satellite imagery. The wetland data were analyzed for each state where playas are found (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) to create the most comprehensive playa location maps possible using remote sources. For full story, go to: http://www.pljv.org/playa_post/2011/september.html#Story1

Gulf Research Pilot Troubled by Oil Sighting in Macondo Prospect

By Georgianne Nienaber – The Huffington Post – September 9, 2011
It's been over 16 months since the BP oil disaster, now rebranded the Macondo oil "spill," or the Deepwater Horizon "spill." The Financial Times reports that the Obama administration has approved the sale of new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Media has not scrutinized the safety of this decision, as all eyes are on the sinking economy and the emerging Republican field for the 2012 election. The lease sale, set for December in New Orleans, was welcomed by oil industry interests. For full story, click here.

Turning Lake Winnipeg pollution into profit

Mychaylo Prystupa - CBC News – September 2011
Experts are working to protect Lake Winnipeg with an innovative research project that removes pollution from wetlands while creating profitable bio-products at the same time. The secret is in harvesting cattails. The tall plants, topped with brown seed heads that look like hot dogs, have thickly invaded the lake's surrounding marshes in recent years. To read more, click here.

Irene, Irene, best reason for restoring wetlands I've ever seen

By Michael Edelstein (Opinion) – The Chronicle – September 2, 2011
In the recent press, now dominated by the devastation wreaked on Orange County and the region by Irene, there was scant coverage (except in The Chronicle and The Warwick Advertiser) of a fascinating conflict taking shape in Orange County's Black Dirt region. The federal government has been purchasing land in order to restore wetlands. For full opinion article, go to: http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2011/09/03/the_chronicle/opinion/2.txt

Drain on the Plain: Tracing our Flooding woes...

By Bartley Kives - Winnipeg Free Press - August 27, 2011
According to the official account, the most expansive and expensive flood in southern Manitoba's modern history was the inevitable result of too much rain and snow. The 2011 Manitoba flood wreaked havoc across the Assiniboine River basin. It devastated century-old communities along Lake Manitoba. It led to the emergency construction of a channel between Lake St. Martin and Lake Winnipeg. The cleanup and emergency price tag, so far, is $732 million. For full story,
click here.

Meetings and Training

Reminder: Mitigation & Ecosystem Banking Call for Presentations Due Oct. 1

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.  Presentations are due Oct. 1, 2011. Visit http://mitigationbankingconference.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Webinar: Community Resilience - Ecosystem-Based Adaptation

October 5, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) This presentation will highlight the four-step process of The Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Resilience project, which includes awareness, risk, choice, and action. For more information, click here.

MI: Great Lakes Week to be Covered and Broadcast via Public Television

Detroit Public Television (DPTV) announces a high level of access to the public for a first-of-its-kind summit discussing the future of The Great Lakes in Detroit October 11-14, 2011. “Great Lakes Week” encompasses significant conferences hosted by the International Joint Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Areas of Concern Program, the Great Lakes Commission, The Healing Our Waters® - Great Lakes Coalition (representing 115 organizations) and Environment Canada – the leading organizations that deal with Great Lakes issues.  For the first time, these events are being hosted in the same city in the same week.  30 million people in North America live in the Great Lakes Basin. DPTV plans to broadcast and/or webcast:

• 25 hours of coverage of conference sessions, featuring speakers and panel discussions
• A daily half-hour recap of activity each day on October 12, 13 and 14
• Other live and on-demand programming featuring conference participants and topics.

Great Lakes Now streamed content will be available to viewers starting on October 11, 2011 at www.greatlakesnow.org. Inquiries about Great Lakes Week events should be directed to Pete Cassell at the Environmental Protection Agency at (312) 886-6234 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Focus on Diversity: Changing the Face of American Birding

October 22, 2011 – John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia, PA. Join concerned birders, birding organizations and other conservation entities for this one-day conference. For more information, visit: http://www.fledgingbirders.org/CFABregister.html

'Wetlands in Your Woodlot' seminar set for Clayton, NJ

The annual Fall Forest Management/Stewardship Series Program will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011. The program, “The Wetlands in Your Woodlot: Regulations Every Woodland Owner Should Know,” will be conducted by Dr. Mark Vodak, a forestry extension specialist from Rutgers Cooperative Extension, and Jon Klischies, a supervising forester from the N.J. Forest Service, at the county’s Government Services Building, 1200 N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, NJ. Topics to be discussed during this program will include defining exactly what a wetland is; highlighting wetlands rules and regulations affecting woodland owners; flood hazard control rules and regulations affecting forest management; what landowners can and can't do silviculturally and operationally from a land management standpoint; and the need to work with their consulting forester. There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion. For directions to the office and to register for the program, call the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office of Gloucester County by the Oct. 21 registration deadline at 856-307-6450 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Bird Conservation Issues before the U.S. Senate

November 15, 2011 – 2-5pm, Senate Hart Building Room 902 - This fall the Bird Conservation Alliance holds its annual meeting at the offices of the U.S. Senate to highlight a number of pending policy issues and discuss opportunities to advance our community’s bird conservation priorities. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife will provide the keynote address, and the agenda includes presentations and discussion on generating support for bird conservation programs facing severe budgets cuts, and passing Senator Cardin’s bill to reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. We will also be discussing opportunities to reduce bird collisions with buildings and other structures, and creating jobs by restoring important bird habitats. To register for the event, please go to: https://www.abcbirds.org/membership/bca_reg.cfm

JOBS

There are new jobs posted on the Wetlands Job board. For the latest wetland jobs, go here: http://aswm.org/news/jobs-a-training-opportunities

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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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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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