Editor's Note

Editor's Choice

National News

Legislative News

State News

Resources/ Publications

Potpourri

Job Openings

Student Jobs

Meetings/ Training

ASWM Calendar

INDEX:

---EDITOR'S NOTE--

---EDITOR'S CHOICE---

·	Millions Approved for Wetlands Project Thanks to WRDA
·	Calling All Wetland Specialists - Seeking Information on Growing Season – Fall Observations
·	Experts Speak on Climate Change
·	Climate Change 2007 – Fourth IPCC Assessment Report Released
·	Lack of Funding Shuts Down USGS Streamgages
·	OR: Voters Approve Modifying land Rules
·	Wetlands Data Viewing Now Available With Google™ Earth
·	Mitigation of Impacts to Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Estimating Costs and Identifying Opportunities
·	11th Circuit Court Decides a Perennial Stream is Not Subject to Clean Water Act

---NATIONAL NEWS---

·	Katrina, Rita Caused Forestry Disaster
·	National Estuaries Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary and Wetland Successes
·	North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grants Program

---LEGISLATIVE NEWS---

·	Pelosi: 'WRDA Veto Override Reaffirms Congress' Commitment
·	Senate Committee Votes to Control Great Lakes Nonpoint Pollution
·	CRS Report for Congress: Comparison of the House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills

---STATE NEWS---  

·	VA: Corps Says Flood Control is Main Goal of Canal, So Trees Must Go
·	OR: On Biz: Commercial Development on the West Side of the Interstate for Sutherlin
·	NJ: Jackson Fined $15,000 for Road Work Done in Wetlands
·	NJ: Owner: Wetlands Contaminated
·	MD: House Passes Bay Cleanup Effort at $50 Million a Year
·	VT: Lowe’s Seeks Wetland Permit; Local Group Decries Short Comment Period
·	MD: Taking From Land Preservation for Bay Program
·	CT: Proposed Fund to Guard Seymour Wetlands
·	MN: Concerns Grow About Disappearing Prairie Potholes Ecosystem
·	AZ: Residents Can Take a Guided Tour of Restored Wetlands
·	ME: Wetlands Center Launches Children's Series
·	NY: City Pressed To Shift Wetlands Jurisdictions
·	MO: Federal Agency Favors Wetlands Route for South Lawrence Trafficway
·	FL: Water Reuse: a Solution to Drought in the Florida Wetlands
·	NC: Proposed Complex Prompts Wetland Worries
·	VA: Settlement Reached in Virginia Wetlands Case
·	CA: Wetlands Restoration Hits a Wall
·	MN: Group Calls on Representatives to Hold Field Hearings on CWRA
·	CA: U.S. EPA Awards $85,970 for Central California Coastal Wetlands Monitoring
·	NY: Nearly $1 Million for Projects to Improve the Health of Long Island Sound
·	VA: Waynesboro, Augusta County Projects Will Receive State Water Grants
·	VA: Money to Go for Wetlands Projects

---RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS---

·	Wetland Drainage, Restoration, and Repair
·	New Biodiversity Website with Freshwater Conservation Resource Webpages
·	Conservation Policies 2007: A Publication of Izaak Walton League of America

---POTPOURRI---

·	Sustainable Sites Initiative Drafts Guidelines for Site Development, Welcomes Comments
·	Duck Season Arrives in Coastal Bend, Texas
·	The Birds are Back: Good News Along the Pacific Coast Flyway
·	Ecologists Transform Schoolyard

---JOB OPENINGS---

·	Environmental Scientist/ NEPA Specialist
·	Restoration Ecologist
·	Environmental Scientist with Wetland Experience –Baltimore & Richmond Positions

---STUDENT JOBS ---

---MEETINGS AND TRAINING---

·	Public Invited toLlearn About Proposed Water Management Rules
·	NEIWPCC’s Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference Calls for Papers
·	Headwater Forum – Indiana State Conference Center
·	Coastal Terrestrial and Wetland Invasive Plants: Ecology and Practical Control and Prevention Workshop
·	Wetland Construction Design
·	Wetlands in the 21st Century: Altered Landscapes and Changing Climates
·	Tundra to Tropics: Connecting Birds, Habitats and People
·	Mangrove Forest Ecology, Management and Restoration
·	American Water Resources Association - Wisconsin Section – Call for Papers
·	Scholarships Available for Students to Attend SWS Conference
·	Beyond Wetlands: Engineering the Landscape
·	Restore America’s Estuaries Conference

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

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The first snow of the season has fallen, barely dusting woods and wetlands, roads and rooftops with a light, wet powder. It’s time to get my snow tires put on my old Volvo and pray—yet again—that the twenty-one year old classy tank will last another winter in Maine. Last weekend I stopped by my camp on Little Sebago Lake to store the canoe and marveled at the massive drop in the lake level. The distant Sand Bar was completely dry and decorated with a flock of ducks; our normally tiny beach stretched for several yards into the cove. I stood there shivering as I watched the whitecaps dip and dance across the lake. In between monthly newsletters, ASWM has started to post one or two interesting news stories on the homepage, http://www.aswm.org, at the beginning of each week. We’ve also been organizing and updating the ASWM website. Be sure to check out the webpages on wetlands and farm programs, post-Rapanos court cases, hiring a wetland consultant, delineator certification, climate change and much more. Reminder: The comments on the Carabell/Rapanos Guidance are due on December 5, 2007. For a link to the Federal Register notice, EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Regarding Clean Water Act Jurisdiction after Rapanos, visit: http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-WATER/2007/June/Day-08/w11123.htm Special thanks to contributors for this month’s issue: Kerry Strout, NEIPCC; Ralph Tiner, USFWS; Valerie Blum, LopezGarcia Group; Amy Belaire, Sustainable Sites Initiative; Tom Biebighauser, USDA Forest Service. Have a happy Thanksgiving! Leah Stetson Editor, Wetland Breaking News

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EDITOR'S CHOICE

Millions Approved for Wetlands Project Thanks to WRDA

By Tiffany Revelle – Lake County Record Bee – November 8, 2007 Work on a 1,600-acre ecosystem restoration project in Upper Lake moved one step closer to starting Thursday when the Senate voted to override a presidential veto. The vote overturned the veto of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). Now law, the act authorizes the project and funds 65 percent of the approximate $46 million price tag. Among hundreds of projects across the country, WRDA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct the Middle Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project in Upper Lake. The 1,600-acre project south of the confluence of Scotts and Middle creeks will restore 1,200 acres of wetlands and 500 acres of floodplain in the area. The project includes 57 percent of Clear Lake's watershed. Plans include raising about half a mile of Highway 20 east of Reclamation Road to the 100-year flood level, raising the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff east of the Rodman Slough bridge to the 100-year flood level, reinforcing metal PG&E utility towers in the area and creating gaps in the dilapidated levee system. For full story, go to: http://www.record-bee.com/local/ci_7410303  For more information on the WRDA, H.R. 1495, visit www.thomas.loc.gov and search for that bill. For additional article on WRDA, see Ecological Society of America (ESA)’s Public Policy News Update, at: http://www.esa.org/pao/policyNews/pn2007/11132007.php

Calling All Wetland Specialists - Seeking Information on Growing Season – Fall Observations Just a reminder that wetland ecologist Ralph Tiner (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) is compiling observations on start and finish of the “growing season” from across the country and your participation is invited.  Growing season is used in wetland delineation to indicate the time of year when inundation and soil saturation have a critical effect on plants.  Visible signs of the growing season are requested: 1) presence of flowers (e.g., witch hazel, asters, and goldenrods), 2) presence of green leaves on non-evergreen species, and 3) production of spores in clubmosses and other spore-bearing plants.  Also of interest would be leaf drop (total leaf drop from deciduous woody plants), leaf browning (e.g., oaks and beeches) where such leaves persist through much of the winter, and herbaceous plant die-back due to killing frost.  Observations for both wetland and upland plants are wanted.  To participate please send your observations to: Ralph_Tiner@fws.gov.  Please put “Growing Season Observations for _______ (specify area)” in the email subject block and for each observation, list the species, the observed feature, the observation date, general habitat (wetland or upland type), and site location (town, county, state).  Your name and affiliation would also be appreciated for acknowledgment of contributors.  This is planned as a multi-year investigation, so for regions where the growing season is year-round or has already commenced, fall observations would be welcome now and observations of both spring and fall reported for future years.  Thanks to all who are willing to help!

Experts Speak on Climate Change By Austin Bogues – Daily Press – November 18, 2007 Norfolk, VA. Jay Taylor isn't worried about people inventing a way to protect themselves from the effects of global climate change. He just wants them to pick up the tools to do it. He fears what could happen if the problem goes on. Taylor and other experts predict that over the next century the sea level might rise 2 to 3 feet in Hampton Roads. Taylor serves on the board of directors for Wetlands Watch, a conservation group dedicated to the preservation of wetlands. At a discussion Saturday hosted by the National Environmental Trust, Taylor addressed a handful of people at the Five Points Community Farmers Market at MacArthur Center. Strategically placed near a skating rink, they discussed the topic, "Is Virginia on Thin Ice?" For full story, go to: http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-news_climatechange_1118nov18,0,2315922.story

Climate Change 2007 – Fourth IPCC Assessment Report Released The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), was recently completed. Earlier this year, the three IPCC Working Groups contributions to the AR4 were released. On the 17 of November, the last part of the AR4 was launched: “The Synthesis Report.” For a direct link to the fourth report, go to: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf To access online copies of the other three assessment reports, visit: http://www.ipcc.ch/#

Lack of Funding Shuts Down USGS Streamgages ESA Policy News Update – November 13, 2007 Representatives of about 50 organizations from five Midwestern states met the week of November 1 to discuss one of the greatest challenges facing water resource management in the United States – the disappearance of the nation's streamgages. The meeting is one of several being held throughout the country to discuss the status of streamgaging carried out under the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Cooperative Water Program ( CWP ) and National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP). The regional meetings are being organized by the Interstate Council on Water Policy, a national organization of state and regional water resource management agencies. The Council became concerned about the loss of the nation's streamgages because its members rely on accurate water measurements to make management decisions. The gages provide information about streamflow, groundwater, precipitation and other water resource attributes vital to decisionmakers for a wide variety of planning, design and management functions. For full news release, go to: http://www.esa.org/pao/policyNews/pn2007/11132007.php

OR: Voters Approve Modifying Land Rules By Peter Wong – Statesman Journal – November 7, 2007 Measure 49, which scales back the nation's most sweeping property-rights law, won handily statewide and among Mid-Valley voters Tuesday. Statewide and in Marion and Polk counties, two of Oregon's top agricultural producers, the measure passed with comfortable majorities. Measure 49 changes the property-compensation law that voters passed in 2004 as Measure 37. "We didn't get hoodwinked this time," said Don Dean, a South Salem resident who voted for Measure 37 but changed his mind after a neighbor filed a claim for a subdivision. "We didn't believe all the lies they were trying to spread -- and the numbers show it." Victor Cobos, a South Salem landowner, said he was surprised at the big margin in favor of Measure 49. He opposed it. "But the people have spoken, so what can I say?" Cobos said. "I think it's a blow to our basic rights, but that's apparently what people want. They must have been scared of all those subdivisions." Measure 49 makes it easier to build a limited number of homes on rural lands, and those limits are tighter in some areas. But it blocks more extensive development allowed under the earlier law, which let state and local governments waive land-use regulations instead of paying landowners. For full article, go to: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/STATE/711070411/1042 For related stories, go to: http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS0107/711070457/1001&nav_category=  and  http://blog.oregonlive.com/elections/2007/11/measure_49main.html

Wetlands Data Viewing Now Available with Google™ Earth Contact: Tom Dahl – US Fish & Wildlife Service – November 9, 2007 A file is now available to automatically load and view Wetlands Data WMS layers into Google Earth. This viewing method provides access to the wetland polygon data in combination with the Google imagery. Wetlands data are available for approximately 60 percent of the conterminous U.S., portions of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Trust Territories. This service is provided through the USFWS Open GIS Consortium (OGC) compliant Web Map Services (WMS). Please note that Google Earth version 4.2, or higher, is required to run this file. For more information, please visit: http://wetlandswms.er.usgs.gov/

Mitigation of Impacts to Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Estimating Costs and Identifying Opportunities New Report Available from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). Every year, human activities cause significant harm to fish and wildlife habitat and the environment.  Many of the impacts to these natural resources are never addressed.  In certain cases, however, federal, state, and local laws and programs can require monetary or in-kind compensation for these impacts.  A new report from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) estimates that private and public expenditures for such compensation under key federal programs total up to $3.8 billion annually. The report also highlights potential opportunities to use the fifty State Wildlife Action Plans to help direct these compensatory mitigation funds in a manner that could support state, regional, or local conservation objectives; and, in so doing, to help conserve fish and wildlife species and biodiversity nationwide and over the long term.  You may follow this link to view and download the report: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11248. For more information, please contact Jay Austin at (202) 558-3103, or austin@eli.org

11th Circuit Court Decides a Perennial Stream is Not Subject to Clean Water Act for a Section 402 Discharge By Jon Kusler, Esq., Ph.D., ASWM On October 24, 2007 the 11th Circuit Court of appeals (Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) overturned the lower, district court Clean Water Act convictions of several individuals for dumping waste water into a stream because the U.S. government had not sufficiently demonstrated that the stream had a "significant nexus" to navigable waters and was, therefore, a "navigable water" of the U.S. and subject to CWA jurisdiction. For a direct link to this article, go to: http://www.aswm.org/fwp/robinson_11th_circuit_court_case_1107.pdf  For a link to the Robison case, go to: http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200517019.pdf Judge Propst was the judge who heard the Robison Case in the lower courts. After the case was returned to the lower court, Judge Propst wrote a memorandum opinion explaining why he was directing the clerk to reassign the case.  His memorandum opinion is well worth the read because this insightful and sometimes humorous response defines the issues faced in this case and future similar cases. For a link to a copy of his memo, go to: http://www.aswm.org/fwp/judge_propst_post_appeal_110707.pdf

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NATIONAL NEWS

Katrina, Rita Caused Forestry Disaster By Marc Kaufman – Washington Post – November 16, 2007 New satellite imaging has revealed that hurricanes Katrina and Rita produced the largest single forestry disaster on record in the nation -- an essentially unreported ecological catastrophe that killed or severely damaged about 320 million trees in Mississippi and Louisiana. The die-off, caused initially by wind and later by weeks-long pooling of stagnant water, was so massive that researchers say it will add significantly to the global greenhouse gas buildup -- ultimately putting as much carbon from dying vegetation into the air as the rest of the nation's forest takes out in a year of photosynthesis. For full story, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR2007111501359.html?referrer=emailarticle

National Estuaries Program Celebrates 20th Anniversary and Wetland Successes National Estuaries Celebrates 20th Anniversary Thanks to EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP), more than 1 million acres of critical habitat has been sustained or restored--- that's a figure that is just shy of the total area of the state of Rhode Island. The NEP, which includes 28 estuaries across the country, was developed 20 years ago to protect and restore these national resources. Stories of success and on-the-ground environmental results are evident from coast-to-coast. These examples help tell the story:  Indian River Lagoon Estuary in Palm Bay, Fla., has rehabilitated 34,943 acres of wetlands; the Charlotte Harbor NEP restored 700 acres of Florida habitat by eliminating exotic plant species. It also founded the Babcock Preservation Partnership to save 91,361 acres from development;  81,000 students have learned about stormwater management through the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership's Schoolyard Stormwater Project; the Massachusetts Bays program has restored 13 shellfish beds; the Barnegat Bay Program in New Jersey has saved more than 32,000 acres of critical habitat; Coastal Bend Bays Estuary in Corpus Christi, Texas, secured $6 million to protect more than 1,000 acres of wetlands; and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program's dissolved oxygen surveys which documented hypoxia and anoxia in that estuary were a catalyst for Rhode Island to legislate a 50 percent reduction in nutrients from treatment plants discharging to the Narragansett Bay. The NEP was authorized under the 1987 Amendments to the Clean Water Act to improve estuarine waters, habitats and living resources by working with partners and the public. More information about the NEP: http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/

North American Wetlands Conservation Act Small Grants Program The North American Wetlands Conservation Council (Council) has created a Small Grants program to promote long-term wetlands conservation activities through encouraging participation by new grantees and partners who otherwise may not be able to compete in the Standard Grants program. Also, the Council believes that a Small Grants program can be important in developing a pool of new partners/grantees who eventually might participate in the Standard Grants program. For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Small/index.shtm. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2007.

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LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Pelosi: 'WRDA Veto Override Reaffirms Congress' Commitment to Protect Americans From Natural Disasters' PRNewswire – November 6, 2007 Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on the House voting overwhelmingly today to override President Bush's veto of H.R. 1495, the 2007 Water Resources Development Act. The final vote was 361 to 54: "Congress overwhelmingly overturned President Bush's ill-advised veto of the Water Resources Development Act and reaffirmed our commitment to protect Americans from natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. This long overdue legislation will allow for critical investments to protect communities from flooding by building and repairing floodwalls and levees, as well as restoring wetlands that absorb floodwaters. Much of our nation's infrastructure is outdated and in some cases crumbling, placing lives, property, and commerce at risk. The President argues that $23 billion over 15 years is too much to spend on Hurricane Katrina recovery, flood control, navigation, hurricane protection, and environmental restoration across the country. Yet we are spending almost as much on the disastrous war in Iraq every two months. For full statement, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/11-06-2007/0004699 348&EDATE=TUE+Nov+06+2007,+08:17+PM

Senate Committee Votes to Control Great Lakes Nonpoint Pollution Contact: Tim Elder – Great Lakes Commission – October 25, 2007 Efforts to restore and protect the Great Lakes received a boost today when a U.S. Senate committee voted to reauthorize a key program supporting local efforts to benefit water quality in the Great Lakes basin. The U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee agreed to include language presented by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI) to reauthorize the Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control as one of the conservation programs in the 2007 Farm Bill. The legislation identifies the Basin Program as a means of achieving one of the top priorities of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes – reducing nonpoint source runoff from rural and urban areas. “The Great Lakes Basin Program is one of the best examples of on-the-ground restoration and protection efforts we have going in the Great Lakes region,” said Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, chair of the Great Lakes Commission. “Since 1991, it has helped prevent more than 1 million tons of soil erosion and kept more than 5 million pounds of phosphorous out of Great Lakes tributaries. I’d like to commend Sen. Stabenow and the members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee for supporting our goals for protecting and restoring the Great Lakes.” For full news release, go to: http://www.glc.org/announce/07/10wrda.html

CRS Report for Congress: Comparison of the House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills Authors: Johnson, Renée, Geoffrey Becker, Ralph Chite, Tadlock Cowan, Ross Gorte, Charles Hanrahan, Remy Jurenas, Jim Monke, Jean Rawson, Randy Schnepf, Jasper Womach, Jeffrey Zinn & Joe Richardson (2007, Oct.) RL34228. Congressional Research Service. For a direct link to this report, go to: http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL34228.pdf

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STATES NEWS

VA: Corps Says flood Control is Main Goal of Canal, So Trees Must Go By Deirdre Fernandez – Virginian Pilot – November 19, 2007 Fifteen years ago, city workers and hundreds of volunteers planted trees along a canal to fight erosion. Now, Virginia Beach work crews are mowing down some of the trees to improve the channel's ability to flush water during a rainstorm. By all accounts the maple, cherry and pine trees that cover the slopes and banks of the 2-1/2-mile canal have been good for water quality. But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, federal officials are concerned that the vegetation could undercut the canal's primary purpose of preventing floods in the neighborhoods around Lynnhaven Mall. An inspection completed last year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the canal was minimally acceptable and recommended some of the vegetation be trimmed. The corps has stepped up evaluations of its flood-control projects after the levees in New Orleans failed to contain flooding from Hurricane Katrina. For full story, go to: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1149713/corps_says_flood_control_is_main_goal_of_canal_so/index.html?source=r_science

OR: On Biz: Commercial Development on the West Side of the Interstate for Sutherlin By Adam Pearson – News-Review – November 18, 2007 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a public notice for Sutherlin Land LLC to develop land in a wetland area beyond the west boundary of Sutherlin. Sutherlin Land LLC has applied with the Corps to move 11,000 cubic yards of dirt for a commercial retail facility into a wetlands area and two unnamed seasonal tributaries of Cook Creek. On the 4.8-acre lot, 1.5 of the 3.7 acres of wetlands would be filled. The tributary would be rerouted to the western edge of the lot to join another drainage area. Stormwater would be treated in vegetated swales or settling basins to reduce the amount of sediment and pollutants reaching wetlands and waterways. For full story, go to: http://www.newsreview.info/article/20071118/BUSINESS/71116042

NJ: Jackson Fined $15,000 for Road Work Done in Wetlands By Fraidy Reiss – Ashbury Park Press – November 18, 2007 Four months after the state Department of Environmental Protection found township workers building a road through wetlands without proper approval, the DEP announced it has fined Jackson $15,000 for the violation. "They can choose to pay it or request an administrative hearing," DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey said Friday. The violation at John F. Johnson Jr. Memorial Park occurred in the summer. A DEP inspector visited the park July 19 on a tip from residents and found workers building an access road from Butterfly Road to the back of the park, through an area that contains wetlands, streams and threatened endangered species, according to a violation notice the department issued. The DEP ordered Jackson officials to stop the work immediately; to remove all fill, pipes and rock that had been brought in; and to replant the area with "wetlands plants," according to the notice. That work was completed in August. For full story, go to: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/NEWS02/711180426/1070

NJ: Owner: Wetlands Contaminated By Michael Gartland – The Record – November 16, 2007 Thirty-five acres of undeveloped wetlands are contaminated with lead, copper and arsenic, the landowner's spokesman said Thursday. The land in question is in the northern part of Paramus and has been the subject of a battle between the developer that owns it, Shamrock Creek LLC, and local environmentalists who want to preserve it as open space. Two weeks after voters in a referendum defeated a proposal to preserve the land, known locally as the Soldier Hill tract, the developer posted signs on the outskirts of the property warning of contamination. For full story, go to: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzI yMjA3OCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=

MD: House Passes Bay Cleanup Effort at $50 Million a Year By Laura Smitherman – Baltimore Sun – November 16, 2007 The Maryland House of Delegates yesterday approved a plan for spending $50 million a year to clean up the Chesapeake Bay after legislators dropped a proposal to assess controversial fees on homeowners and developers to pay for the effort. But the House and Senate must resolve differences over which revenue streams to tap for the cleanup effort. The two chambers have set aside money from various taxes for the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund, formerly called the Green Fund. The House action would create the fund and govern how it would work; the chamber voted 103-30 to approve the bill and send it to the Senate, which has not approved a governing bill. For full story, go to: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.green16nov16,0,1353548.story

VT: Lowe’s Seeks Wetland Permit; Local Group Decries Short Comment Period By Jedd Kettler – County Courier – November 14, 2007 A 172,000-square-foot Lowe's Home Center store proposal for northern St. Albans Town - put on hold in 2004 - has returned to the table with the filing of a Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation wetlands permit application. If approved, the Conditional Use Determination would allow the developer to fill in and build on 59,930 square feet of Class Two wetlands and 99,450-square-feet of wetlands buffers, according to the application. The developer would be required to construct replacement wetlands as mitigation. The 15-day public comment period for the State wetlands permit ended on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Members of the local Northwest Citizens for Responsible Growth have filed a letter stating their initial opposition to the project and asking for an extension of the comment period. For full story, go to: http://www.thecountycourier.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=4324&Itemid=

MD: Taking From Land Preservation for Bay Program By Tom Pelton – Opinion Blog, Baltimore Sun – November 13, 2007 Is it progress to take from one environmental program to give to another? In this case, does it make sense to take millions of dollars that would be used to preserve forests and fields, and instead hand the cash to farmers and stream reconstruction companies for runoff control projects? That's what the Maryland Senate, led by President Thomas "Mike" Miller, is proposing to do, and Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration isn't opposed to the concept. But the Maryland House of Delegates isn't yet on board. And some preservationists think it's a bad idea -- a modern form of robbing Peter to pay Paul -- that would undermine a successful and popular environmental program. Moreover, the critics say, preserving forests and open spaces is the best way to filter runoff and stop pollution into the bay. So cutting this effort for the sake of an unproven concept raises questions. The state Senate recently cast preliminary votes in favor of a bill that would take about $20 million a year that would have gone to the more than 30 year old Program Open Space, which pays to preserve land and build playgrounds. The money would go instead to Senate President Miller's proposed new "Chesapeake Bay 2010 Fund." For full blog, go to: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bay_environment/blog/2007/11/taking_from_open_space_for_the.html

CT: Proposed Fund to Guard Seymour Wetlands By Kate Ramunni – Connecticut Post – November 12, 2007 The town's wetlands are vulnerable to development, and the commission charged with protecting them wants to make sure that money is available to remediate any damage sometimes caused by construction. To that end, the Inland Wetlands Commission plans to meet Tuesday with the Board of Selectmen and submit a draft ordinance that would set up the Wetland Protection Fund, providing money to mitigate damage to the environmentally sensitive spots. "We are one of the first, if not the first, to do it in the state," said commission Chairman Steven Plotkin. While developers must abide by the town's wetland regulations, officials said damage can often occur during the construction process, causing runoff that needs to be cleaned up before it affects larger bodies of water. The fund, derived from permit fees, would be used for that purpose without having to take legal action against the developer to get the work done, Plotkin said. For full story, go to: http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_7437606

MN: Concerns Grow About Disappearing Prairie Potholes Ecosystem Minnesota Wire – CBS Broadcasting – November 12, 2007 The humble name given to ``prairie potholes'' the ponds, wetlands and small lakes dimpling Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas belies the mounting concerns here and nationally about their disappearance from the landscape. Potholes are considered key habitat for almost 200 species of migratory birds. But with federal inducements to plant more crops and the financial rewards of renting out the land, many farmers are ending land-preservation agreements. With a federal report warning of the need to protect them, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is doing flyovers to investigate whether potholes are being drained illegally. At stake is ``arguably the most endangered ecosystem in the world,'' said Rex Johnson, a wetlands expert and wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fergus Falls. The U.S. Government Accountability Office warned last month that the Fish and Wildlife Service is falling behind in protecting the pothole region. The study estimated that it will take 150 years and billions of dollars for the agency to acquire enough land to sustain healthy bird populations. For full story, go to: http://wcco.com/minnesotawire/22.0.html?type=local&state=MN&category=n&filename=MN--Topic-PrairiePoth.xml  For another story on prairie potholes, go to: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1543870.html

AZ: Residents Can Take a Guided Tour of Restored Wetlands By Nicole Squibbs – Yuma Sun – November 10, 2007 Just east of the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, where stagnant, foul-smelling water full of salt-loving plants once infected the area, there is now native vegetation, wildlife and waterfalls in the Yuma East Wetlands. Residents can walk through the restored wetlands area on a guided tour at 9 a.m. every Saturday, the first of which was this weekend. "I love the outdoors, and I love walking," said Terry Snyder, a Yuma resident for over a year. "It was free ... and I really wanted to learn about different plants in the area and what direction everything's going ... how we're progressing ... I'm excited about all the progress that's been made." For full story, go to: http://www.yumasun.com/articles/plants_37742___article_news.html/native_area.html

ME: Wetlands Center Launches Children's Series By Jennifer Brockway, Friends of Unity Wetlands – Village Soup – November 8, 2007 Friends of Unity Wetlands announces a series of Saturday morning children’s programs, set to begin Nov. 17 at the Wetlands Education Center, 93 Main St. Each program in the “Center Saturdays” series will include an indoor activity as well as some time exploring the outdoors. The programs are facilitated by students enrolled in the Teacher Education Program at Unity College and FUW volunteers. All sessions run from 10:30 to noon and are free and open to the public. Parents and children are encouraged to sign up in advance by phoning 948-3766 or emailing fuw@unitymaine.org . For full story, go to: