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INDEX:

---EDITOR'S NOTE--

---EDITOR'S CHOICE---

·	Drained Wetlands Having Dramatic Effect On Our Area
·	Seven Wetland Stewards Win 2008 National Wetlands Awards
·	Guidebook identifies both the state-of-the-art protection of wetland buffers by local gov’ts
·	Calling All Wetland Specialists - Seeking Information on Growing Season
·	May is American Wetlands Month – Start Planning a Wetlands Festival
·	EPA Says No to the Yazoo Pumps
·	Climate Change Will Have a Significant Impact on Transportation Infrastructure and Operations

---NATIONAL NEWS---

·	Secretary Kempthorne Announces Funding for Wetland Projects
·	Bush Administration Refuses to Protect Endangered Species Wetland Habitat in MI & MO
·	Environmental Groups Sue Bush Administration to Force Polar Bear Protection
·	Draft FY 2009 National Water Program Guidance Released for Comments
·	Protecting All Waters

---LEGISLATIVE NEWS---

·	Bush sets deadline for farm bill
·	Administration Analysis Details Impact on USDA Programs without a New Farm Bill

---STATE NEWS---  

·	MD: Mining could spoil wetlands
·	MO: Under Pressure: Proposition 1 would OK city’s upgrade of sewers
·	LA: Wetlands Research Center showcases women's art
·	IN/IL: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Awards New Research Funding
·	FL: Development in wetlands moves ahead near Collier-Lee line
·	FL: Why rush? Consider effects on wetlands carefully
·	MD: Md. lawmakers seek to speed rural Web access
·	NE: A birdwatcher's paradise
·	MN: DNR to buy rare wetland near Chanhassen
·	SD: Opposing efforts in Congress to expand jurisdiction of Clean Water Act
·	WA: Ecology, FEMA currently revising state flood hazard maps
·	ME: Ellsworth construction firm settles with EPA in wetlands case
·	TX: Rare Shrub's Spread May Revive Wetlands
·	MD: Legal protection argued for wetlands
·	LA/NJ: Chemical Found to Lure Nutria Out of Louisiana Wetlands
·	WA: Wetland bank plan awash in concerns
·	MI: Bill calls for state to give up wetland enforcement role
·	TX: Mitigation Project Along Plum Creek

---RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS---

·	New TMDL Database
·	Salt Marsh Booklet Released by Gulf of Maine Council
·	Floodplain Fact Sheets
·	Dam Removal and the Wetlands Regulations in MA
·	Adaptive Management for Impacts to Eelgrass Habitat in Gloucester Harbor
·	The Next Generation of Stormwater Wetlands

---POTPOURRI---

·	Geotimes: The impending coastal crisis
·	American Rivers-NOAA Restoration Program Grants

---JOB OPENINGS---

·	Wetland Biogeochemistry Research Technician Position
·	CTAP Botanical/GIS Assistant for Illinois Natural History Survey
·	Stream Restoration Design Specialist/Scientist
·	Environmental Scientist/Specialist Operational (Wetlands/Outreach Position)
·	Faculty Position, Coastal Environmental Science
·	Watershed Planner / Environmental Analyst

---STUDENT JOBS ---

---MEETINGS AND TRAINING---

·	Wetlands Restoration and Enhancement of the National Mapper Meeting
·	New York Wetlands Forum
·	The Great Marsh Symposium
·	Energy 2100: Making the Lakes Great
·	New England Estuarine Research Society Spring Meeting
·	6th National Water Quality Monitoring Conference
·	2008 Wetland Science Seminars at the Humboldt Institute on the coast of Maine
·	TMDL Development and Implementation:  Current Progress and Future Direction
·	Wetland Delineation Training Workshops
·	2008 Eastern Regional Wetland Restoration Training
·	Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference 2008
·	2008 Restore America's Estuaries National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat

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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, Lately I have been reflecting on old poems I wrote about my grandfather, who passed away earlier this month. He taught me the thrill of speed skating on narrow streams along the Mingo Road, which I mispronounced, “Flamingo,” when I was little. Back then, he took me on long walks down that road and through the woods in rural New Gloucester, Maine, where we hunted for pink lady slippers—not to pick, just to admire them. Once we came across the orchids interspersed with several pairs of my grandmother’s slippers—wooly-lined moccasins, Isotoners and her favorite magenta slip-ons, planted among them. This was the sort of joke my Grampa thought was terrific. He pretended to be puzzled while his curly-headed, eight-year-old granddaughter deduced what had happened. ASWM has a new webpage on wetland assessment at: http://www.aswm.org/fwp/assessment/index.htm which includes a recent ASWM article, “Wetland Assessment: Measuring the Quality of the Nation’s Wetlands,” a checklist of suggested considerations in developing wetland assessment methods for states as well as several links to state and federal resources on assessment. We will be updating this webpage regularly. We welcome recommendations for additional links to add to this webpage. Papers for Wetlands 2008: Wetlands and Global Climate Change are due April 11, 2008. For more information on the call for papers and the conference, visit: http://www.aswm.org/calendar/wetlands2008/cfp_2008.htm Many thanks for contributions to this newsletter by: Jon Geiselbrecht, Texas Department of Transportation; Cookson Beecher, Capital Press Ag News; Kevin Bliss, New York State Wetlands Forum; Stephanie Lindloff, American Rivers; Tom Biebighauser, U.S. Forest Service; Anne Favolise, Humbolt Field Research Institute; Dana Field, State of Oregon; Irene Miles, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Happy Spring!

Leah Stetson Editor, Wetland Breaking News

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EDITOR'S CHOICE

Drained Wetlands Having Dramatic Effect On Our Area

By Jim Konkoly – Highlands Today – March 15, 2008 Every day, the Archbold Biological Station's weather station is providing data to help the federal National Climatic Data Center determine if, as weather data strongly suggests, south central Florida's climate is getting hotter and drier during the summers while the winters have more deep freezes which are lasting longer and getting colder. A recent study, which will be followed up by more research, suggests that the draining of the south central Florida wetlands may be responsible for the climate changes, which have huge implications on the water supply for agriculture and population growth and could threaten the citrus industry. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases may not be the biggest problem causing climate change that threatens local economies, the study suggests. For full article, go to: http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2008/mar/15/drained-wetlands-having-dramatic-effect-our-area/?news

Seven Wetland Stewards Win 2008 National Wetlands Awards

Source: Environmental Law Institute / ENN – March 10, 2008 This year’s Award winners hail from all regions of the country and exemplify the extraordinary commitment and innovation that is so instrumental to conserving wetlands in the nation’s communities. “These wetland champions are restoring and protecting one of America’s greatest natural assets through education, conservation, and dedication,” said Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Water. “These profiles, both in courage and in stewardship, show us all how to meet the President's national goal of increasing, not simply maintaining, the quantity and quality of our wetlands.” The 2008 awardees are: John Dorney, the Supervisor of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality’s Program Development Unit who has been instrumental in the development of the state’s wetland and stream protection programs…For complete list of winners and full article, go to: http://www.enn.com/press_releases/2391 and http://www.eli.org/news.cfm#Wetlands

Guidebook identifies both the state-of-the-art and the range of current practice in protection of wetland buffers by local governments

The Planner’s Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments – Environmental Law Institute (ELI) The upland area surrounding a wetland – the wetland buffer – is essential to its health and survival. Healthy wetlands and buffer areas help to control flooding, protect water flows, conserve native plants and wildlife, and support nature-friendly land use and development. Local governments are often better situated than state and federal environmental authorities to control activities on the lands that surround wetland resource areas, because they are not just concerned with wetland functions, but also with surrounding land uses and the benefits wetlands provide for their communities. Based on ELI’s detailed examination of more than 50 enacted wetland buffer ordinances around the nation and nine model ordinances, as well as several hundred scientific studies and analyses of buffer performance, the Planner's Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments identifies both the state-of-the-art and the range of current practice in protection of wetland buffers by local governments. The Guide provides to local governments considering enacting or amending a wetland buffer ordinance what they need to know to manage land use and development in these important areas. For more information, visit: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID=11272

Calling All Wetland Specialists - Seeking Information on Growing Season

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 beginning of the growing season include bud break, greening up of vegetation (e.g., leaf or shoot emergence, leaf-out, and greening of evergreen leaves that were reddish in winter like cranberry, leatherleaf, and dewberries), first bloom, and opening of catkins.  Signs of the end of the growing season include leaf drop in the fall and herbaceous plant die-back due to killing frost.  Some plants flower (e.g., witch hazel asters, and goldenrods) or produce spores (e.g., clubmosses) in late fall and these observations are also requested.  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 welcomed this year and observations of both spring and fall reported for future years.  Thanks to all who are willing to help!

May is American Wetlands Month – Start Planning a Wetlands Festival

May marks the 18th anniversary of American Wetlands Month, a time when many partners in federal, state, tribal, local, nonprofit, and private sector organizations celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic and social health. It is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide - improved water-quality, increased water storage and supply, reduced flood and storm surge risk, and critical habitat for plants, fish and wildlife. For a brochure on how to plan a wetlands festival, go to: http://www.aswm.org/propub/15_wetlandfest_6_26_06.pdf  For the EPA webpage on American Wetlands Month, visit: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/awm/

EPA Says No to the Yazoo Pumps

By Melissa Samet – American Rivers News Release – February 4, 2008 For only the 12th time in its entire history, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun the veto process to kill an environmentally devastating project. For the past 67 years, the Army Corps of Engineers has been trying to convince America to waste more than 200 million dollars, to drain more than 300 square miles of wetlands in Northwestern Mississippi. Such an area is equal to the size of New York City, including all 5 boroughs. For full news release, go to: http://www.americanrivers.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11305&news_iv_ctrl=-1 For a link to the EPA 404 (c) on Veto Authority, go to: http://www.epa.gov/404c/

Climate Change Will Have a Significant Impact on Transportation Infrastructure and Operations

Contacts:  Maureen O'Leary – The National Academies – March 11, 2008 While every mode of transportation in the U.S. will be affected as the climate changes, potentially the greatest impact on transportation systems will be flooding of roads, railways, transit systems, and airport runways in coastal areas because of rising sea levels and surges brought on by more intense storms, says a new report from the National Research Council.  Though the impacts of climate change will vary by region, it is certain they will be widespread and costly in human and economic terms, and will require significant changes in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation systems. For full news release, go to: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12179 Another study, led by the Environmental Protection Agency joined by other agencies, expresses a similar warning on infrastructure and adds a concern for beaches, wetlands and fresh-water supplies that also are threatened due to encroaching saltwater.  For more information or to read the report on coastal sensitivity to sea level rise, visit: http://climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-1/public-review-draft/

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NATIONAL NEWS

Secretary Kempthorne Announces Funding for Wetland Projects

Contact: Craig Rieben – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – March 12, 2008 The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission today approved more than $29 million in federal funding for the protection and management of nearly 190,000 acres of wetlands and associated habitats in the U.S. that will benefit ducks and waterfowl nationwide under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA).  The Commission, composed of members of Congress and federal cabinet secretaries, and chaired by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, also approved nearly $3 million under NAWCA to enhance wetland and waterfowl management in Mexico and more than $4.2 million for the purchase of 2,213 acres of wetlands for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System. For full news release, go to: http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=A31A7FE4-A62A-A2FA-C197A75D1D1A5BD4

Bush Administration Refuses to Protect Endangered Species Habitat in Michigan and Missouri National Forests (Wetlands)

Source: NRDC / ENN – March 11, 2008 Environmental groups challenged the federal government’s decision to exclude all national forest land from a recent endangered species ruling in federal court today. The suit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for Biological Diversity, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, Michigan Nature Association, Door County Environmental Council (DCEC) and the Habitat Education Center, charges that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s designation of critical habitat for the Hine’s emerald dragonfly violates the federal Endangered Species Act by excluding all 13,000 acres in Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest and the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. […] The areas in question are some of the most important vestiges of the endangered dragonflies’ wetland habitat. For full story, go to: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/32680

Environmental Groups Sue Bush Administration to Force Polar Bear Protection

Source: NRDC / ENN – March 11, 2008 Today the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),ENN  the Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace sued the Bush administration for missing the legal deadline to issue a final decision on whether to list the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act due to global warming. “The Endangered Species Act is absolutely unambiguous: the Fish and Wildlife Service was required to make a final decision months ago. Now it’s up to a federal court to throw this incredible animal a lifeline,” said Andrew Wetzler, director of the Endangered Species Project at NRDC. “We need urgent action from this administration, to protect the polar bear and reduce greenhouse gas pollution, not continued delay.” For full story, go to: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/32686

Draft FY 2009 National Water Program Guidance Released for Comments, and FY 2008 Final Measures and Commitments Available

EPA News Release – March 10, 2008 The National Water Program has released the Draft FY 2009 National Water Program Guidance for public view and comment.  This is the second annual water program guidance to implement the EPA 2006-2011 Strategic Plan. This draft guidance describes water program priorities and strategies, including the suite of water performance measures, for the coming fiscal year.  The draft guidance is available at http://www.epa.gov/water/waterplan/fy09.html.  Please send comments to Noha Gaber (gaber.noha@epa.gov) in the Office of Water by March 31, 2008.

Protecting All Waters

Editorial – New York Times – March 7, 2008 Congress should approve the Clean Water Restoration Act so as to reaffirm the broad federal protections that it intended when it passed the law in 1972.  Half of the waters in the United States are at risk of pollution or destructive development because of a wrongheaded Supreme Court decision in 2006. The decision narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act, weakened the law’s safeguards and thoroughly confused the federal agencies responsible for enforcing it.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/opinion/07fri3.html?th&emc=th

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LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Bush sets deadline for farm bill

By MARY CLARE JALONICK – Business News – March 13, 2008 President Bush is urging Congress to keep current farm law for another year if lawmakers can't agree by April on a new bill to extend farm and nutrition programs -- a possibility given that congressional negotiations have stalled. Bush said Thursday he will sign a one-month extension of the existing farm law passed by both chambers Wednesday, pushing expiration to April 18. The 2002 law originally expired Sept. 30 and has been extended repeatedly. For full story, go to: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8VCP4280.htm

Administration Analysis Details Impact on USDA Programs without a New Farm Bill

Contact: Keith Williams – USDA News Release – February 29, 2008 At the request of senior House and Senate agriculture committee staff, the U.S. Department of Agriculture today provided a detailed document developed from Administration analysis of impacts to current USDA programs - in the absence of enactment of a new farm bill or an extension of the 2002 farm bill past March 15, 2008. As stated in the USDA analysis, the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949, which have been repeatedly suspended by several farm bills, would again become legally effective if a new farm bill is not enacted or Congress fails to extend the 2002 farm bill by March 15, 2008. Often described as a reversion to "permanent law," such a result would "dramatically narrow the universe of producers who receive support, and would do so in a way that most producers will view as irrational," according to the 14 page paper prepared by USDA and approved by the Office of Management and Budget. For full news release, go to: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/02/0062.xml

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STATES NEWS

MD: Mining could spoil wetlands

The Daily Times – March 18, 2008 Environmentalists are afraid that a company's plans to mine sand and gravel on a parcel of farmland and forest along Marshyhope Creek in Dorchester County will spoil a very rare wetlands area. Delaware-based Horsey Family LLC is asking the county zoning appeals board on Thursday for a zoning exception for the proposed excavation east of Cambridge on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The environmental concerns are unfounded, said the company's attorney, William McAllister. For full story, go to: http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/NEWS01/803180344/1002

MO: Under Pressure: Proposition 1 would OK city’s upgrade of sewers

By Kat Hughes – Columbia Tribune – March 16, 2008 The proposal before voters April 8 regarding improvements to the city of Columbia’s sewers is not a question of whether the city should make  $77 million in improvements, but how it should pay for them. The city is asking voters in Proposition 1 to approve paying for sewer improvements using bonds. That means city sewer users would pay back the amount over a long-term period rather than paying upfront through higher rates during the next few years. […]“Right now, the city is relying on the wetlands to meet our permit limit, and that’s how come we can say we have 20 million gallons of capacity when we only have 13 million gallons of capacity mechanically; the wetlands make up the other 7” million gallons, Hunt said. “But once we have the ammonia requirement, we’ll have to provide all the ammonia removal through a mechanical process because the wetlands do not consistently remove ammonia on a monthly basis.”  For full article, visit: http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Mar/20080316Feat004.asp

LA: Wetlands Research Center showcases women's art

By Patricia Gannon – The Daily Advertiser – March 16, 2008 The U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center is in touch with its feminine side. The NWRC welcomed guests and artists to an opening reception for "Women's Art: Women's Visions of the Natural World," a weeklong exhibition in honor of National Women's History Month. Organized by center director Greg Smith, branch secretary Debbie Norling, graphic designer Christina Boudreaux and Susan Horton, pieces were required to reflect nature in either subject matter or materials. http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080316/LIFESTYLE/803160302/1024

IN/IL: