A good place to start to understand the diversity of Wetlandkeepers is the National Wetlands Awards hosted by the Environmental Law Institute http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org/. The biographies of the winners and near winners is an extraordinary collection of people. For many years I served on the committee that reviewed the nominations and it was always a wonderful experience because it provided a chance to read about people doing great things for wetlands from all walks of life. Meeting the winners at the award ceremonies each year continues to be a special experience. Often these people are wetland heroes that work under the radar in their own community. At the award ceremony I could see this look in their eyes that communicates that they are still a little bit in shock—stunned to receive national recognition for their work.

They didn’t do it to become popular. They did it because they care, because for them it was simply the right thing to do.

A Wetlandkeeper might be a teacher who inspires students to learn about the plants and animals who depend on them.

It might be a drainage expert who creates a new career in wetland restoration.

—or a farmer who turns flood-ravaged farmland into an outdoor wetland classroom for thousands of students
—or a scientist willing to crawl through miles of underbrush in 100+ F to gather information about a wetland
It could be a lawyer who defends wetland laws
—or a legislator who introduces them.

Over the years, we have met and worked with them all — these and many more.

Often, being a Wetlandkeeper is not popular work. I’ve known people who have been escorted from a public hearing by federal marshals because passions against wetland protection ran so high, or have lost their jobs for making a permit decision that protected wetlands.

But those sorts of things occur rarely. More often being a Wetlandkeeper is incredibly exciting. A Wetlandkeeper may watch children gasp in wonder as they hold a spotted salamander for the first time. A Wetlandkeeper may be one of a group of scientists exploring frontiers in wetland knowledge so new there weren’t words to describe the ideas they were exploring. A Wetlandkeeper may know that floods will not reach into a neighborhood anymore because wetlands restored upstream will keep the community safe. A Wetlandkeeper sees whooping cranes lingering in a wetland they restored during spring and fall migration.

Wetlandkeepers need our help. They need information and knowledge. They need to know about breakthroughs in wetland science and new opportunities to work with partners in other programs. They need to avoid mistakes that have been made in the past. They want to hear about the experiences of others and to know who their peers are around the country. They need to know how they can protect wetlands and at the same time address the concerns and needs of other people and other natural resources.

That’s what we do: provide that information. It’s why the Association of State Wetland Managers exists. Looking after Wetlandkeepers is what we do. We work with state wetland program managers, but we also work with so many others because protecting and conserving wetlands is a joint enterprise.

Today we are launching our Wetlandkeepers Campaign to raise funds to provide information and education to Wetlandkeepers. You can help us support the nation’s Wetlandkeepers.

Make a charitable donation.
Become an ASWM member and get involved.
Send us your Wetlandkeeper story that we can share with others (to Jeanne). Send us photos of your experience as a Wetlandkeeper.

So please take a moment this World Wetlands Days to celebrate the wonder of wetlands and the Wetlandkeepers who look after them. They are both very necessary and very special.

By Brian Jackson and Elizabeth Skree – Restore the Mississippi River Delta – January 31, 2012
When society asks who will pay for Louisiana wetlands restoration, people usually think of government or big oil. While both have a huge role, recent developments suggest there may soon be a way for a broad range of American and international businesses to get involved and help pay for restoration projects that will benefit everyone. http://www.mississippiriverdelta.org/2012/01/31/new-methodology-makes-carbon-markets-work-for-wetlands/

SciGuru Science News – January 30, 2012
A new study comparing the carbon-holding power of freshwater wetlands has produced measurements suggesting that wetlands in temperate regions are more valuable as carbon sinks than current policies imply, according to researchers. The study compared several wetlands at two Ohio wetland sites: one composed of mostly stagnant water and one characterized by water regularly flowing through it. The study showed that the stagnant wetland had an average carbon storage rate per year that is almost twice as high as the carbon storage rate of the flow-through wetland.  http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/12549/Temperate-freshwater-wetlands-are-forgotten-carbon-sinks

Caleb described it best: “The pond was so inundated by the rainwater that the ice had melted around the rim of the pond and there were about 10 feet of open water between the shore and the ice. This posed a major problem on how to get our gear that was left out on the ice. Fortunately we had driven the snowmobiles and 4-wheelers off the ice the night before. But we still had pack baskets and bait buckets and traps out on the ice. We found some lumber under the camps and made a bridge from shore to ice. We then ran around trying to find all our gear. The water on the ice was calf-deep most places and some were up to knee-deep. Each ice hole that we had drilled throughout the weekend was functioning as a large drain for that water. It was quite a sight to look out and see 200 holes with whirlpools going down them. And they were strong. Some that still had traps in them were going round and round very fast, while the holes got bigger and bigger…about a 10 foot radius, about 4 times the original size. And the traps had long since been dragged under the ice. …Fortunately no one went through the ice.”

This month a local ice fishing derby in southern Maine was postponed until February 25^th because the ice on Crystal Lake was too thin. Normally in January, it’s about three-feet thick. An ice fishing derby isn’t necessarily a fast race. It might last a day or a weekend or the terms of a tournament might challenge the participants to “catch the most fish between January 1^st-March 31^st, 2012.” Plus, derbies often include related competitions, including ice shanty decorations.

Saturday I strapped ice cleats over my sheepskin-lined boots, and regretted my choice in footwear, as a slush of puddles coated Crystal Lake. There was no way I was going to “blend in” among the ice fishermen, since I wore a hot pink vest and not camouflage hunting clothes. I joined a group of a dozen excavators, and quickly learned a few things about their traditions. The first two things I learned about ice fishing—“you can never have enough beer” and trout was “the prized fish.” I asked about togus and pike, invasive fish that show up in Sebago Lake. The ice fishermen told me that Crystal Lake is a small pond with coldwater and warmwater fish, only about 59 feet deep and no known invasive species. But if they were ice fishing on Sebago Lake, then they would have a different strategy. On Crystal Lake, the guys baited their gear with shiners to attract trout, weighing the line so that the hook reached the bottom. They taught me how to set the gear, sometimes using homemade equipment, other times using hi-tech ice fishing tackle.  A spring-like action, similar to a mouse-trap, triggered a wire with an orange flag if a fish nibbled the hook. In the few hours I was on the ice, none of the 10 or so flags moved. At night, the men planned to sleep inside the shacks, and used a trap-door in the floor with gear set for overnight fishing. The fish are more active at night, I learned. (Of course, I was not spending the night out there! So I had to take their word for it.)

Barely a foot of ice held up their four-wheeled ATVs and shacks, fully decked with woodstoves, camping gear, coolers full of beer and food, and extra boots. A barbecue grill sat directly on the ice between two shacks (“the heat rises,” they assured me). Few people walked across the pond, like I did, except for one man, who accidentally stepped right down into a hole, which had been left unmarked, and he waddled back with his leg wet up to the knee. He held up his beer and said, “It’s okay, I’ve got heat in a can!” They all laughed. These guys seemed a hardy bunch. They were disappointed that the local derby had been postponed until late February, but remarked that it had to do with the slushy conditions and safety issues. In other parts of the country, ice conditions are a concern as well.

MI: Fish report: Ice iffy because of temperature changes, DNR says

WI: Greater Emphasis on safety at Weekend Fishing Tournaments

MI: With video: Weathering the warmer winter

NH/CT: For plenty of reliable ice, go north to CT lakes

MN: Lake Elmo Lions Ice Fishing Contest Cancelled Due to Thin-Ice Conditions

MI: Ice anglers in southern MI need to be careful because of fluctuating temperatures

MA: Accidents stir warnings over dangers of thin ice

CAN: Fishing season thin ice (Ontario)

By Robert Sanders – UC Berkeley Blog – January 24, 2012
Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those that disappeared over the past century. But a new analysis of restoration projects shows that restored wetlands seldom reach the quality of a natural wetland. http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/01/24/study-shows-restored-wetlands-rarely-equal-condition-of-original-wetlands/

By Rachel Nuwer – New York Times Blog – January 24, 2012
To many, it’s a familiar scenario: a strip mall suddenly pops up in what was once a desolate quagmire or boggy boondock. But people are coming to realize that these seemingly wasted plots where land meets water provide a valuable ecological service. In addition to nurturing biodiversity, wetlands purify water, produce fish, store carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to global warming, and protect shorelines from floods, storm surges and erosion.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/not-all-wetlands-are-created-equal/

The mitigation MOA was a formal agreement between EPA and the Corps; it formalized the process of avoiding, minimizing and mitigating for aquatic alteration.  It contains the policy and procedures to be used in determining the type and level of mitigation necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines in carrying out the Section 404 dredge and fill permitting requirements. It provided a uniform process designed in the increasing mitigation activities occurring throughout the country.

As mitigation became a standard part of the Section 404 permitting program, questions were raised about whether and how wetlands could be replaced successfully on the landscape.  Early evaluations identified many problems with onsite permittee-responsible mitigation leading to the identification of third party opportunities: mitigation banking and in-lieu fee.

A 2001 National Academy of Sciences report:   Compensating For Wetland Losses Under The Clean Water Act http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309074320 provided a benchmark on progress implementing the mitigation MOA in the field.  The report was a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. It identified a number of shortcomings in current policy and provided specific recommendations for federal agencies and states on how to proceed with effective ecological replacement of wetland functions lost to authorized development activities.

The report received a lot of attention and on December 24, 2002, six federal agencies signed the National Mitigation Action Plan. http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/upload/2003_07_10_wetlands
_map1226withsign.pdf.  The plan laid out a strategy for the federal agencies to work with states and tribes to address areas of ambiguity and increase accountability for wetland mitigation.

The 2008 mitigation rule codified many issues resolved by various committees, workgroups and forums that grew out of the mitigation action plan.  It adopted and applied ‘lessons learned’ from the efforts of wetland regulators, scientists, consultants and others working in the field.  Evaluating this progress is evident when looking at some of the many studies of mitigation success over the last 10 years.

A report from Missouri evaluating mitigation sites established prior to 2004 found that while applicants made good efforts to complete mitigation, it was difficult to evaluate success because the measures included in the permits were too general to quantify.

Another report reviewing mitigation banks in Florida evaluating sites established in 2006 and earlier determined that while sites generally met success criteria, they did not meet the highest scores, which were the basis for the credits sold.

A more recent report from North Carolina evaluating sites from 2007-2009 determined that 74% of the wetlands and 75% of the stream mitigation sites met their design requirements.  This was up from 20%-40% in studies conducted in the mid-90s.

What can we conclude?  We know a lot more due to an enormous amount of work undertaken by federal agencies, states, scientists, consultants and many others. We’re a lot better than we were in the beginning.  But are these studies representative of the rest of the country?  The only way to determine that would be to conduct a national assessment of mitigation success.

The Environmental Law Institute has taken on that challenge by convening a panel of wetland scientists to develop a study designed to assess the regulatory and ecological outcomes of the three compensatory mitigation mechanisms. These are mitigation banking, in-lieu fee mitigation and permittee-responsible mitigation. The study has been organized in a manner that will enable comparisons of the three mechanisms nationwide. The next step will be to identify the funding to conduct such a study, which is critical to continuing to build on progress made over the past 20 years.  For a list of studies, training and other materials on mitigation visit: http://www.eli.org/Program_Areas/WMB/index.cfm

For many of the documents described above as well as other information visit the U.S. Environmental Mitigation webpage: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/wetlandsmitigation_index.cfm

January 18, 2012
American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, announces an open public comment period for a first-of-its-kind carbon offset methodology that will both quantify how wetland restoration work can combat climate change and provide a way to help pay for rebuilding the Gulf of Mexico’s disappearing coastal wetland. The methodology, Restoration of Degraded Deltaic Wetlands of the Mississippi Delta, was funded by Entergy Corporation and developed by Dr. Sarah K. Mack of New Orleans-based Tierra Resources LLC, with contributions from Dr. Robert R. Lane, Dr. John W. Day and Tiffany M. Potter. For full blog post, go to:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-carbon-registry-initiates-approval-of-worlds-first-carbon-offset-methodology-for-deltaic-wetland-restoration-2012-01-18

Reactive Nitrogen

By Sam/Virginia Tech blog – November 2011
https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/sday178/2011/11/22/reactive-nitrogen/

New report reviews US nitrogen pollution impacts and solutions

By Woods Hole Research Center – January 17, 2012
http://www.sciencecodex.com/read/new_report_reviews_us_nitrogen_
pollution_impacts_and_solutions-84465

‘The Red Cross warned that disaster agencies were already dealing with the effects of climate change in vulnerable countries across the world. “The findings of this report certainly tally with what the Red Cross Movement is seeing, which is a rise in the number of weather-related emergencies around the world,” said Maarten van Aalst, director of the Red  Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre and coordinating lead author of the IPCC report. “We are  committed to responding to disasters whenever and wherever they happen, but we have to  recognize that if the number of disasters continues to increase, the current model we have for responding to them is simply impossible to sustain.”’ – from The Guardian, Nov. 17, 2011 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/17/ipcc-climate-change-extreme-weather

The Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre published a related report for policy-makers in light of this new information about extreme weather-related disasters and preparing for climate change. For the Summary for Policy Makers of the new Special Report on Extremes (Nov. 2011), visit: http://www.climatecentre.org/site/news/329/summary-for-policy-makers-of-the-new-special-report-on-extremes-srex

Strange Wetlands sought the first-hand perspective of Allen Crabtree, a volunteer for the Public Affairs division of the American Red Cross. Mr. Crabtree has volunteered with the Red Cross since Katrina. He has identified many human interest stories and interviewed those affected by floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other extreme-weather disasters. In the past year, the Red Cross deployed Mr. Crabtree to cover the stories of Hurricane Irene and related flooding events in Vermont and the Mississippi River floods, and the tornadoes in South Carolina.

Mr. Crabtree arrives on the scene immediately after a hurricane, tornado, flood or forest fire has hit. Often he is deployed “pre-landfall,” before a hurricane has come ashore. It’s his job to get the word out to people –let them know where the Red Cross shelters and other services are located, to help prepare people for a disaster and to contact the media. He’s been known to set his laptop up and report via Skype with a hurricane raging around him. The Red Cross makes use of social media, too, to spread the news—over Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. However, social media can be a way for rumors to spread, for example, when the Mississippi River floods occurred, there was a false rumor posted on Twitter about the Red Cross offering a particular service; but these social media outlets are closely monitored, and rumors are quickly squashed.

Extreme weather-related disasters are expensive and the Red Cross uses footage of the storms, the damage and the people in shelters, to raise funds for their efforts. But Mr. Crabtree’s first love—writing stories—is what drives him to reach out to people. Thinking back on the Mississippi River floods, Mr. Crabtree said, “The sad thing about floods is that they are a slow-moving disaster. When do you evacuate? Afterwards, it makes a slow retreat as the water levels return to normal.” Unlike a tornado with its fast path of destruction, a flood, or even a hurricane, can continue to damage communities and wreak havoc long after the onset of the storm. Mr. Crabtree has written about some of the “success stories” among the Red Cross shelters during the Mississippi River floods and other storms this year, stories, he says, about “people picking themselves up in the face of a lot of impediments. They are a shining example of the resilience of people.” Read Allen Crabtree’s stories here on the Red Cross website via the links below the photo.

Red Cross Reaches Out to Aid Vermont Flood Family (Vermont flood, September 2011)

Red Cross Shelters Residents of Transvale Acres in Flooded Conway, NH (2011)

“What do I do after the flood?” (North Dakota, 2011)

Red Cross is here for the Long Haul (Mississippi River floods, 2011)

Disaster Can Change Someone’s Life in Seconds (North Carolina tornado, 2011)

Video, News Channel 8: Interview with Allen Crabtree on the Joplin tornado (June 2011)

Strong Waters, Stronger Friendships (Missouri floods, 2008)