INDEX:

---EDITOR'S NOTE--

---EDITOR'S CHOICE---

·	Alaska, Utah Join Court Battle Over Wetland Permits
·	Wisconsin Wetlands Association Responds to Threats to State Wetland Law
·	MI: Another Bill Introduced To Weaken Wetland Protection
·	Wetland Education Products Available
·	Report on Biodiversity of Isolated Wetlands Published by NatureServe Now Available
·	Deadline Extended For The 2005 National Wetlands Awards to 1/15/06

---NATIONAL UPDATES---

·	National Wetlands Loan Act Proposed
·	Targeted Watershed Grant Awards Announced by EPA
·	Duck-Producing Wetlands May Dry Up Fast
·	Action Needed to Reverse Great Lakes Breakdown, Say Scientists
·	Report Says Chesapeake Bay's Health Is Declining
·	GAO Denounces Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Efforts
·	Groups Say Government Is Dragging Its Feet Protecting 283 Species
·	New Dams Destroying Water Sources and Damaging Economies, WWF Says
·	Canada Geese to Be Killed Under New Federal Rule

---LEGISLATIAVE NEWS---

·	Land Sale Bill Ignites Passions in American West
·	House Leadership Strips Arctic Drilling From Budget Bill

---STATES NEWS---  

·	LA: Lake Pontchartrain Lost Nearly 45 Square Miles Of Wetlands In Katrina
·	RI DEM Offers Freshwater Wetlands Application Status Checks On Internet
·	Science Panel Says Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Lack Overall Plan for Restoring Wetlands
·	Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup Begins New Phase Of Monitoring Initiatives
·	WI: 2006 Coastal Management Program Needs Assessment
·	MS: Land Developer, Two Others Sentenced In Wetlands Case
·	FL: Wetlands Campaign To Ask Lawmakers To Vote For Stricter Regulations
·	FL: Wetlands Win Reprieve From Federal Judge
·	IN: State Buys Property For $8 Million
·	WI: $6.3 Million Cleanup Of Newton Creek And Hog Island Inlet Complete
·	AZ: EPA Sues Scottsdale Developer For Filling And Diverting The Santa Cruz River
·	NJ DEP Preserves More Than 2,000 Acres Of Open Space In Atlantic County
·	PA Awards $14.4 Million In Growing Greener Funds

---PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES---

·	New Model Helps Protect Future Wetlands
·	New Book Chronicles Louisiana's Coastal Wetlands, Culture, Way of Life
·	Go With The FLOW: Great Lakes Science Curriculum Available Online
·	Welcome to the December 2005 Edition of the Playa Post!
·	New Online: Tadpoles of the Southeastern United States Coastal Plain
·	Watershed Academy Webcast Seminars
·	EPA Fact Sheet: Mitigation Banking: Compensating for Impacts to Wetlands and Stream
·	EPA Responds to IJC's 12th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality
·	Online: Latest GLNPO Significant Activities Report
·	Helping Citizens Get Involved in Water Quality Permitting

---POTPOURRI---

·	Whooping Crane Spending Second Winter Lost
·	NOAA Open Rivers Initiative Announces Funding Opportunity
·	Grant Funding Available for Coastal Community Partnerships
·	Feds Offer $6.5 Million for Conservation on Private Lands
·	Position Title:  Coordinator, Michigan Important Bird Areas Program
·	Natural Resources Management Director
·	Ecologist, Department of Biology, The University of South Dakota

---MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES---

For a rolling calendar of meeting, conferences, and other events visit the ASWM calendar.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dear friends and colleagues,

Do you ever think about your life and how it compares to your parent’s lives when they were the age you are now? At thirty-five my mother had three kids – I was just out of high school - and was in the midst of a messy divorce from my father, which included a custody battle for my brother and sister. Sadly I blamed her for everything that went wrong, and even now I revert to a surly teenager if she offers any advice or tries to help me in any way – after all, what does she know?  As time passes, however, I can relate more to the difficulties she was facing, or at least empathize more. I am now trying to mend the rift and be more forgiving of her imperfections though it is through painful, small steps. It is hard to change almost twenty years of learned behavior, you know? But this is so important: first because my mother will not be around forever (though she’s only 53 and I hope she has a good forty years left); and second, because I would like to be forgiven for all of the things that I am doing, real or imagined, to screw up my children’s lives. I hope in the coming year that we can all work to improve our relationships with our loved ones, before it is too late. There are never enough opportunities to thank the people who support Wetland Breaking News, particularly those who send in news items.  This month contributors included Ted LaGrange, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission; Susan Weber, City Ecologist, City of Huntsville, AL; Maria Placht, Environmental Law Institute; Rosalie Shaffer; Carrie Lloyd, BHE Environmental; Kathy Goodin, NatureServe; Laura Engalnd, Wisconsin Wetlands Association; Judy Bailey, US EPA; Jeanne Christie, ASWM; and Pat Riexinger, NYS DEC. Happy Holidays, everyone! Jennifer Brady-Connor Editor, Wetland Breaking News

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Alaska, Utah Join Court Battle Over Wetland Permits

By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner , 12/8/05 - WASHINGTON--The states of Alaska and Utah have joined a court challenge to federal rules that require a permit for any development on most wetlands. The states on Monday filed "friend of the court" briefs in two lawsuits the U.S. Supreme Court already has combined and agreed to consider this term. The lawsuits, involving two Michigan landowners, consider whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to require permits to develop wetlands that are not closely connected to navigable waters. Both landowners lost their arguments in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and so have appealed to the Supreme Court. In the brief filed Monday, Alaska Attorney General David Marquez sides with the two Michigan landowners. The landowners claim that the Corps of Engineers improperly required them to obtain permits to develop their wetlands, especially in view of a 2001 Supreme Court decision interpreting the federal Clean Water Act…Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are set for Feb. 21. http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3159451,00.html# [Added by Jeanne Christie, ASWM.]  A total of 19 amicus briefs were filed on behalf of the petitioners (the landowners in the two cases) at the beginning of December.  These briefs generally focus on wetlands and the scope of the Section 404 program of the Clean Water Act.  However, the two wetland cases before the Supreme Court challenge the definition of waters for the Clean Water Act as a whole including point source permits (Section 402), impaired waters (303d), etc. as well as the Oil Pollution Act which uses the Clean Water Act's definition of waters by reference.  The court's decision in these cases will affect these other programs as well.

Wisconsin Wetlands Association Responds to Threats to State Wetland Law

The Wisconsin Wetlands Association has released a statement and attachment responding to a 12/5/05 state senate committee press conference on plans to consider changes to wetland protection regulations. http://www.wiscwetlands.org/news.htm

MI: Another Bill Introduced To Weaken Wetland Protection

Michigan Wetlands Action Coalition newsletter, A Bi-Weekly Publication. Friday November 18, 2005. Legislators in Lansing have been quite busy recently attempting to weaken wetland protection.  Previous MWAC newsletters discussed bills that would threaten Michigan’s assumption of authority to regulate section 404 of the Clean Water Act (HB 4892 and HB 5127).  Another bill, HB 5383, introduced by Representative Fulton Sheen on November 1 would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.  The bill would place conditions on the requirement that regulators consider “the availability of feasible and prudent alternatives, locations, and methods.” Current guidelines for DEQ staff with regard to feasible and prudent alternatives already exist in rules.  The bill would require the MDEQ to consider whether the alternative location they propose is on the same parcel and if it is already owned by the applicant.  Other amendments would basically require regulators to look at the proposed use from the point of view of the property owner rather than from the point of view of environmental protection…To read the text of the introduced bill, visit http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=2005-HB-5383

Wetland Education Products Available

From Ted LaGrange, Wetland Program Manager, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission. 11/15/05. Several Nebraska wetland education products have recently been released and are  available free of charge.  The Guide to Nebraska’s Wetlands and their Conservation Needs is a full color, 59 page special publication by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.  The Guide defines and describes Nebraska wetlands and discusses wetland functions, dynamics, classification, inventory, and conservation efforts.  Trail Tales magazine is a quarterly publication produced by NEBRASKAland Magazine and sent to nearly every 4th grade student in the state.  The Spring 2006 issue is a special 16-page wetlands edition that describes Nebraska’s wetlands, their functions and associated wildlife.  Also included are several games and trading cards featuring some of Nebraska’s wetland wildlife.  A Wetlands of Nebraska video contains scenes from of a variety of Nebraska wetlands including their associated wildlife, and explores the values wetlands provide and the role they play in the lives of Nebraska residents.  The educational video is 27 minutes long and is targeted to 4th-6th grades, but is appropriate for younger and older audiences as well.  Nebraska Educational Telecommunications produced the video.  Copies are available in VHS or DVD format.  A web site (www.nebraskawetlands.com) is also being developed and will soon contain information from all of the outreach materials and will also include links and updated information. These products were made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with matching funds provided by Ducks Unlimited and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Report on Biodiversity of Isolated Wetlands Published by NatureServe Now Available

Some of the wetlands and other waters that are "isolated" from navigable waters are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act as a result of a 2001 Supreme Court decision (Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), 2001). NatureServe has recently completed an assessment of the potential impacts of the SWANCC decision on the at-risk species and communities that are associated with these isolated wetland systems in all 50 U.S. states.  The information and analyses contained in this study are designed to assist policymakers and land managers at federal, state, and local levels to better understand the biodiversity value of isolated wetlands in their jurisdiction and plan for their protection. The complete report and supporting data are available for viewing and download on NatureServe's website (www.natureserve.org).

Deadline Extended For The 2005 National Wetlands Awards to 1/15/06

The deadline has been extended for the 2005 National Wetlands Awards.  Nomination forms are now due January 15, 2006 (postmarked). The 2006 Awards will be given in six categories: Education and Outreach; Science Research; Conservation and Restoration; Landowner Stewardship; State, Tribal, and Local Program Development; and Wetland Community Leader. The National Wetlands Awards Program honors individuals from across the country who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level.  http://www2.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm.

Return to Top of Page


NATIONAL UPDATE

National Wetlands Loan Act Proposed

The Pioneer Press, 11/27/05. It was a novel idea, created in the 1960s, to help stop the rate of wetland losses in America. Now, it's an idea ready to be reborn. The Wetlands Loan Act would borrow up to $400 million against the future sales of duck stamps to help pay for easements and land purchases benefiting ducks. U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, R-Minn., has introduced legislation, the Wetlands Loan Act, modeled after a similar bill first passed in 1961. "We are facing a growing wetlands conservation crisis," Kennedy said recently. The $400 million in loans, when added to the current annual revenues coming into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, would set aside $800 million over 10 years for wetlands and waterfowl habitat. . . http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/outdoors/13244600.htm

Targeted Watershed Grant Awards Announced by EPA

EPA will award over $9 million to 12 of the nation's most outstanding watershed coalitions as part of the Agency's third round of Targeted Watersheds Grants (TWG). These 12 organizations will join 34 others that have been selected over the past two years to help protect and restore some of the nation's most highly valued watersheds. Capitalizing on the undeniable fact that strong partnerships lead to strong results, the Targeted Watersheds Grant program continues to promote effective public and private relationships. The 2005 selected watershed organizations (see below) will use the funds toward a variety of restoration, protection, and trading projects. http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/initiative

Duck-Producing Wetlands May Dry Up Fast

11/29/05. The waterfowl-producing wetlands of Minnesota, Iowa and especially the Dakotas and Canada may be at high risk if climate-warming trends continue, according to a scientist at South Dakota State University. W. Carter Johnson, a professor of ecology, has conducted computer modeling that shows a marked reduction in wetlands and waterfowl. Johnson's research appeared in the October issue of "BioScience" and was released by conservation groups in a report last week. Johnson's work is the first to examine the so-called prairie pothole region extensively. http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13281831.htm

Action Needed to Reverse Great Lakes Breakdown, Say Scientists

NWF news release, ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 8, 2005)–The immune system of the Great Lakes is breaking down and the ecosystem is in danger of collapse, according to a new report released today by the region’s leading scientists…The paper reports that the Great Lakes buffering capacity, or immune system, is breaking down, rendering ineffective the self-regulating system of the lakes to protect themselves and recover from new stresses like pollution and invasive species. The report is available online at http://www.restorethelakes.org

Report Says Chesapeake Bay's Health Is Declining

By Tom Pelton, Sun Reporter. Originally published November 14, 2005. The health of the Chesapeake Bay has declined over the past five years and could get even worse as hundreds of acres of wetlands are consumed by development, a nonprofit advocacy organization concludes in a report to be issued today. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation's annual "State of the Bay" report gives the nation's largest estuary a grade of D, with a score of 27 out of 100. That is the same score as last year and down a point from 2000, a calculation based on a variety of health factors… http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.bay14nov14,1,5078421.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

GAO Denounces Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Efforts

By Elizabeth Williamson, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Page B01. The government agency leading the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay has consistently overstated its progress while minimizing threats to the bay and its own failures to address them, according to a federal oversight report released yesterday. A Government Accountability Office review found that the Chesapeake Bay Program Office - an arm of the Environmental Protection Agency -- has no coordinated, comprehensive plan for cutting pollution in the bay, even after nearly $6 billion in state and federal money has been devoted to the effort in the past decade…http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/15/AR2005111501506.html  GAO REPORT: Chesapeake Bay Program: Improved Strategies Are Needed to Better Assess, Report, and Manage Restoration Progress. GAO-06-96, October 28.http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-96 Highlights - http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0696high.pdf

Groups Say Government Is Dragging Its Feet Protecting 283 Species

November 09, 2005 - By John Heilprin, Associated Press. WASHINGTON — The government has allowed 283 species identified as possibly facing extinction to languish without protection under the Endangered Species Act, a coalition of environmental groups contends in a lawsuit against the Interior Department. Some 24 candidate species have gone extinct waiting for protections in the past 32 years, the Center for Biological Diversity in Arizona, Forest Guardians in New Mexico and other advocacy groups allege in the suit filed late Monday in U.S. District Court here. Noah Greenwald, a conservation biologist with the Arizona-based group, said the Interior Department hasn't acted as quickly as the law requires in adding wildlife to its endangered species list. The species -- ranging from the Dakota skipper butterfly in the northern Great Plains to the Oregon spotted frog -- have waited an average of 17 years to be added to the list, the suit says…http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9214

New Dams Destroying Water Sources and Damaging Economies, WWF Says

WWF press release, 15 Nov 2005. Gland, Switzerland – Dams are continuing to cause excessive social and environmental damage despite recommendations made by the World Commission on Dams (WCD), says WWF. The report from the global conservation organization, To dam or not to dam? Five years on from the World Commission on Dams, looks at six dams under construction in the last five years, all of which fail to meet these recommendations. The report shows that dams can damage, drown or even dry out wetlands, an important source of water. While promising cheaper power or water for better irrigation systems, dams can actually result in economic disruption, with electricity prices rising and many people displaced. http://panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news.cfm?uNewsID=50440

Canada Geese to Be Killed Under New Federal Rule

WASHINGTON, DC, November 21, 2005 (ENS) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed reducing the numbers of Canada geese that reside in the United States. In a Final Environmental Impact Statement released Thursday, the Service proposes a regulation with three main program components. The first component would be targeted to address resident Canada goose depredation, damage, and conflict management by authorizing or establishing specific resident Canada goose Control and Depredation Orders. The second component would be targeted to increase the sport harvest of resident Canada geese by providing new regulatory options to state wildlife management agencies and Tribal entities by authorizing the use of additional hunting methods. The third component would consist of a new regulation authorizing a resident Canada goose population control program, or management take…  http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2005/2005-11-21-09.asp#anchor7

Return to Top of Page


LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Land Sale Bill Ignites Passions in American West

December 07, 2005 — By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters. MISSOULA, Montana — A Republican congressman under fire for crafting a bill to sell public land to mining interests defended his proposal Tuesday, saying it would ensure the viability of the mining industry and help develop the economies of rural communities. . . Opponents argue that some of the West's prime recreation grounds could be sold to companies with mining claims or anyone who wants to establish them, even if there is no proof of mineral wealth. http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9409

House Leadership Strips Arctic Drilling From Budget Bill

WASHINGTON, DC, November 10, 2005 (ENS) - House Republican leaders decided late last night to drop authorization for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from a $54 billion deficit reduction bill. The policy reversal was prompted by moderate Republican House members who told the leadership in a letter that the refuge is of greater benefit to the nation if it remains pristine than if it is opened to oil and gas exploration. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2005/2005-11-10-04.asp

Return to Top of Page


STATES NEWS

LA: Lake Pontchartrain Lost Nearly 45 Square Miles Of Wetlands In Katrina

BY Elizabeth Ashby, Pontchartrain Newspapers, 11/9/05. MANDEVILLE - Nearly 45 square miles of wetlands around Lake Pontchartrain have disappeared because of Hurricane Katrina, it was reported last week at a Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation meeting in Mandeville. "Lake Pontchartrain suffered a greater wetland loss in this one event than it lost between 1990 and 2000," said Dr. John Lopez, director of LPBF's Coastal Program. "The pressure to focus more on flood protection may cause coastal restoration to be lost in the process. We need the wetlands and natural ridges to help protect the levee system. The modern world ecological engine and economic engine co-depend on one another." Hurricane Katrina's destructive eyewall crossed over Lake Pontchartrain, he said, and four square miles of Northshore wetlands were lost because of the storm . . . http://www.slidellsentry.com/articles/2005/11/09/news/news17.txt

RI DEM Offers Freshwater Wetlands Application Status Checks On Internet

RI Department of Environmental Management news release, 12/7/05. PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has announced that the public can now view the status of individual freshwater wetlands applications via Rhode Island's e-government portal, www.RI.gov. The service is free, and allows homeowners, builders, and anyone else interested in a wetlands application to track the progress of the application or find out whether DEM has received one. The website is available 24-hours a day and the information is updated daily. To access the wetlands information, go to www.RI.gov or to DEM's website, www.dem.ri.gov, and click on "Wetlands" permit search on the homepage. http://www.dem.ri.gov/news/2005/pr/1207051.htm

Science Panel Says Corps of Engineers, Louisiana Lack Overall Plan for Restoring Wetlands

November 10, 2005 — By John Heilprin, Associated Press. WASHINGTON — The Army Corps of Engineers and state of Louisiana lack an overall plan for restoring coastal wetlands, a National Academy of Sciences panel said Wednesday. "Federal, state and local officials, with the public's involvement, need to take a broader look," said Robert Dean, a University of Florida engineering professor in Gainesville who chaired a panel on the restoration efforts. Dean said those efforts must examine "where land in coastal Louisiana should and can be restored and ... how some of the sediment-rich water of the Mississippi River should flow to achieve that."…http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9225  FULL REPORT: http://www.nationalacademies.org/morenews/20051109.html

Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup Begins New Phase Of Monitoring Initiatives

EnviroBytes, a Summary of Issues and Events for the Week ending 11/18/05. EPA Region 3 has extended funding to the Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup (MAWWG) for another three years from 2006 to 2009 through its Wetland Program Development Grant. The workgroup is administered by staff from the Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Wetland Center. MAWWG will use the funds to support a forum that facilitates the development and implementation of comprehensive state-wide wetland monitoring programs in the mid-Atlantic region. http://www.epa.gov/region03/ebytes/ebytes11_18_05.html

WI: 2006 Coastal Management Program Needs Assessment

11/21/05 from Mike Friis, Program Manager, WI Coastal Management Program. The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) has completed a Draft Coastal Management Needs Assessment for Wisconsin's 15 coastal counties. The assessment's questions and the program areas are identified in guidance by NOAA and include: Public Access, Coastal Hazards, Ocean/Great Lakes Resources, Wetlands, Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, Marine Debris, Special Area Management Planning, Energy & Government Facility Siting, and Aquaculture. http://coastal.wisconsin.gov In coordination with other state agencies, the WCMP is in the process of developing a Wisconsin Great Lakes Strategy (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/wistrategy/) that parallels the federally directed Great Lakes Regional Strategy. Comments accepted through December 21, 2005.

MS: Land Developer, Two Others Sentenced In Wetlands Case

12/6/05. Associated Press, Biloxi Sun Herald - MS, USA; HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The developer of a Vancleave subdivision, his daughter, and a business associate convicted of conspiracy, mail fraud and violating the federal Clean Water Act have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1.4 million in mitigation costs. . . Lucas, his daughter, Robbie Lucas Wrigley, an Ocean Springs real estate agent, and M.E. Thompson, a professional engineer from D'Iberville, were accused of selling lots in a wetlands area with unworkable septic systems . . . http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/13340519.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

FL: Wetlands Campaign To Ask Lawmakers To Vote For Stricter Regulations

Lynette Wilson @PensacolaNewsJournal.com. 12/4/05. Northwest Florida doesn't have another five years to lose when it comes to having the same wetlands protection afforded the rest of the state, activists say. "Given the pace of development, by then it will be too late," said Rosalie Shaffer, conservation chairwoman of the Northwest Florida Sierra Club. "We want it brought in this year. We've been waiting 10 years." . . . Since 1995, the Environmental Resource Permitting Program has regulated dredging and filling isolated wetlands and storm water runoff in four of the state's five water management districts. At the close of the 2005 regular legislative session, Panhandle lawmakers pledged to Gov. Jeb Bush that they would find a way to implement the permitting in Florida's Northwest District. Bush included $1.9 million in his 2006 budget to seed the program, but lawmakers failed to implement it. The current level of protection sunsets in 2010.http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051204/NEWS01/512040331/1006#

FL: Wetlands Win Reprieve From Federal Judge

By CRAIG PITTMAN and MATTHEW WAITE, Published 11/11/05, St. Petersburg Times. - A federal judge Thursday put a halt to development that would destroy up to 2,000 acres of wetlands in the Florida Panhandle. A special permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers makes it too easy for the St. Joe Co. to build houses, apartments, offices, stores, warehouses and other projects likely to damage the environment, ruled U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan. The decision marks the third time this year a federal judge has ruled that the corps was too lenient in allowing the destruction of Florida wetlands. The decision could affect a plan by the state's home builders to get the corps to issue similar special permits for other regions of Florida . . . http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/11/State/Wetlands_win_reprieve.shtml  [Editor’s note: This is the fifteenth news article by Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite for the St. Petersburg Times in their Special Report series, “Vanishing Wetlands.” Visit http://www.sptimes.com/2005/webspecials05/wetlands/index.shtml to view all of their articles.]

IN: State Buys Property For $8 Million

By Andrea McCann, staff writer, Linton Daily Citizen, 11/19/05. Gov. Mitch Daniels was at Triple H Gun Club on Tuesday to announce the purchase of 8,000 acres in Greene County by the State of Indiana … The state purchased the ground from Maurice Wilder of Wilder Farms for $8 million. At one time, it was a single, large wetland called Blackwater Marsh. It was originally a glacial basin teeming with waterfowl, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Since the turn of the 20th century, the land has been tiled, ditched and otherwise manipulated to drain for farming, leaving Beehunter and Goose Pond…The IDNR plans to return the ground to its natural wetland state with the assistance of several conservation partners…   http://www.dailycitizen.com/articles/2005/11/09/news/agoosepond.txt

WI: $6.3 Million Cleanup Of Newton Creek And Hog Island Inlet Complete