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Floating wetlands to help clean up Inner HarborWBAL-TV– April 20, 2012
Students and environmentalists spent the day Friday creating floating wetlands that will be released into the Inner Harbor to help better the Chesapeake Bay and the environment. http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/Floating-wetlands-to-help-clean-up-Inner-Harbor/-/10131532/11252174/-/p52jvyz/-/index.html
The current Farm Bill is due to expire in September of 2012. If it is not revised or extended, funding for many current programs will sunset. In addition, there is a provision in the Farm Bill which causes it to revert to the 1949 Farm Bill if it is not reauthorized. This is unacceptable because the programs would be based on crops and crop prices from over 60 years ago. Therefore, by the end of the fiscal year (September 30) Congress will need to take action.
The Farm Bill’s Conservation Title, perhaps more than any other piece of legislation, is responsible for helping the country to achieve ‘No Net Loss’ of wetlands in recent years. This is because historically the great majority of wetlands destroyed were converted to agriculture. For example agricultural development was responsible for 87% of the 11 million acres of wetlands lost from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. These high rates of loss occurred years before the addition of Conservation Title programs to the Farm Bill. The Conservation Title has two important provisions, which have stemmed and reversed wetland losses due to agriculture:
The Conservation Compliance Provisions of the Farm Bill include Swampbuster, which disqualifies an agricultural producer (farmer) from receiving a long list of USDA subsidies if they alter a wetland and make it possible for a commodity crop to grow there.
The Wetland Reserve Program has restored over two million acres of wetlands from 1990-2008. (http://www.wetlandresearch.com/wiki/index.php?title=
Wetland_Reserve_Program).
But these programs may be rendered ineffective, or at least much less effective, in the next Farm Bill. Big changes are expected. The nation’s enormous budget deficit means there is likely to be less funding available for farm programs. This combined with the recent sky-high prices for commodity crops such as corn have led to a lot of discussion about eliminating and/or significantly revising price support programs linked to Swampbuster and combining or otherwise making adjustments to programs like the Wetlands Reserve Program that reimburse farmers for protecting and conserving natural resources including wetlands.
The largest issue on the horizon with respect to wetland loss is what happens to Swampbuster. More correctly the problem is likely to be what doesn’t happen. Swampbuster is not a regulation. It is a requirement that agriculture producers must comply with to receive tax-payer funded support. However, not all tax-payer funded support requires compliance with Swampbuster, including crop insurance.
If many of the existing programs that farmers enroll in go away, then a number of experts believe the only program farmers will care about being eligible for is crop insurance and crop insurance is not linked to Swampbuster. This means that an agricultural producer could convert wetlands to cropland this year and receive a crop insurance payment for a flood on that drained wetland the next year. Last year the federal government spent $7.4 billion to subsidize crop insurance premiums according to a recently released GAO report. http://www.courant.com/business/connecticut-insurance/hc-crop-insurance-gao-20120413,0,7203196.story
How likely is it that drained wetlands will flood? According to a report by Ralph Heimlich of Agricultural Conservation Economics, 555 counties, mostly in the Mississippi River Valley have flooded 10 years out of the past 21. It will be no surprise to wetland and natural hazard professionals that there is a strong correlation between drained hydric soils (drained wetlands), flooding, and both insured and uninsured disaster payments. In those 10 years when there was flood a total $3.8 billion for crop insurance, over 4 billion of uninsured disaster payments was paid out to residents of those counties.
If more wetlands are drained, then flood storage is lost and flooding will get worse.
For some information on how many acres of wetland might be at risk, a recent report on Conservation Policy: Compliance Provisions for Soil and Water Conservation Systems by the Economic Research Service indicates that agricultural producers that manage 332 million acres of farmland will have fewer incentives to comply with Swampbuster if some of the anticipated changes occur. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/ConservationPolicy/compliance.htm
About two thirds of this acreage is cropland, but the rest is not. Another part of the report states that of the estimated 90 million acres of wetlands currently subject to Swampbuster, 12.9 million are adjacent to existing cropland. If these wetland acres were drained and converted to agriculture it means more than 10 % of the remaining wetlands in the lower 48 states would be lost.
The Clean Water Act is unlikely to be a factor in stemming wetland loss. It does not regulate drainage activities. Even if it did, isolated wetlands such as the Prairie Potholes are not regulated by the Clean Water Act since the SWANCC Supreme Court decision. Finally, normal farming activities (which are continually changing with innovations in science and technology) are exempt from the act.
Is the likelihood of major wetland losses real? Well it would require some additional analyses to really quantify the magnitude of the problem. But it seems likely that if crop insurance is not linked to Swampbuster in the next Farm Bill, then the federal government and taxpayers will help be subsidizing a ‘safety net’ for agricultural producers that will also serve as a subsidy for future wetland loss.
Behold The Slingshot DroneBy Neal Ungerleider – Fast Company – April 13, 2012
Scientists in Utah have found a novel way to map wetlands: Launching UAVs into the air with a giant slingshot. Researchers at Utah State University are launching slingshot-like UAVs into the air… for the sake of science. The recently launched AggieAir Flying Circus is a full-service aerial photography lab that uses unmanned drone aircraft, launched via bungee, to map the environment. http://www.fastcompany.com/1830538/aggieair-flying-circus-utah-state-university
By Joel Boyce –Care2 – April 17, 2012
What Are Wetlands? If you break it down — wet-land — it might be obvious that we’re talking about a class of ecosystem that combines the properties of the terrestrial and the aquatic. Wetlands constitute land area which is either permanently or seasonally submerged with water. Wetlands typically have trees and other large land plants (adapted for dealing with submersion either continuously or at intervals) along with true aquatic plants.
http://www.care2.com/causes/wetlands-rainforests-of-the-north.html
Wetlands in Outdoor Classroom in RichmondBy Stu Johnson – WEKU – April 16, 2012
A large sunken area behind Madison County’s Glen Marshall Elementary school is undergoing a conversion. It allows school children to explore their own wetlands area. The soft soil in the deep pit like area behind the school is becoming a home for new plants and hopefully crawling animals. Stephen Richter is a biological science professor at Eastern Kentucky University. Richter says studies show being outside helps kids learn. http://weku.fm/post/wetlands-outdoor-classroom-richmond
Since Strange Wetlands’ post on wetland videos and documentaries a few years ago, climate change adaptation and wetlands, including sea level rise and water conservation—have taken center stage in recent films. Some films address climate change adaptation, water resources, sea level rise and/or other impacts of climate change affecting wetlands. Others deal with the stressors on wildlife and natural resources, including wetland habitats. The IMAX documentary film, “To the Arctic,” about a family of polar bears and the issues facing wildlife in the Arctic, narrated by Meryl Streep, premiers this 
spring (2012). Another award-winning film, “The Island President,” illuminates the threat of sea level rise to the Maldives, a developing nation of 2000 islands off the coast of India.
The American Museum of Natural History posted a short video on arctic ecosystems in the face of climate change called “The Ecology of Climate Change” earlier this month. The film presents some research on boreal forests from Woods Hole Research Center and University of Florida. Like other recent films, it turns the attention to natural resources and adaptation as opposed to a focus on reducing carbon emissions, which was a more common theme in media a few years ago.
NOAA Climate Services and its Digital Coast webpages have a lot to offer for videos and visual presentations, including a short general video called “Climate Change: Impacts, Solutions and Perceptions” and a number of other climate change videos.
A simple search for “sea level rise” on Youtube lists over 5000 videos, including this USGS video: “Sea level rise, subsidence and wetland loss.” A number of videos look at the planning and analysis that went into coastal adaptation management plans in states like Florida such as this 2012 video: Adapting Coastal Communities to Sea-Level Rise: Why Isn’t Anybody Doing Anything? And this New York City (Wall Street Journal) video on sea level rise. Some of the Youtube sea level rise videos explore the topic in other areas of the world, such as islands, internationally. For example, a series of short videos look at climate change adaptation in Tanzania.
States working on climate change adaptation plans have presented their analyses in short films to help educate citizens. For example, a Wisconsin’s Changing Climate video was produced by the WICCI Climate Working Group, looking at climate impacts in the state of Wisconsin projected to 2055. There are a number of other similar educational videos if you look for them state-by-state, or visit state universities’ websites to search for current research projects, which often have videos or short documentaries about the work. Student-made films can be very good, too. A creative example is the Beneath the Waves Film Fest Student Film Winner: “Tropic Cascades” (2012). A Brown University student made a film on Cape Cod salt marsh ecology.
The U.S. Forest Service has compiled a good list of climate change videos and presentations that pertain to impacts to natural resources, including water and fish, forests and carbon and adaptation. For example, a presentation on “Challenges for Conserving and Managing Headwater Aquatic Ecosystems Under a Changing Climate” is available on its website.
ASWM’s Climate Change—and specifically the Sea Level Rise Tools webpages—have a number of resources, including USGS’s video on “Effects of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Wetlands in the Mississippi Delta” and this video, “Converging Currents in Climate: Relevant Conservation: Water, Infrastructure and Institutions” by Conservation International (2011). Communicating to the public about climate change is often difficult when the language is constantly changing. See NOAA’s video on Communication & Climate Change (2012). Other short films illustrate the dynamics of coastal wetlands protection in the climate change context such as this one on mangrove forests by Wetlands International (2011). The Sea Level Rise Tools section of ASWM’s website also points to Coastal Climate Learning Tools (includes videos, wikis, webinars, training, etc.) and a video presentation on “Sea Change: Researchers Use Computer Modeling to Understand Rising Seas and Coastal Risks.”
Earlier this winter, Strange Wetlands looked at the link between Red Cross, extreme weather events and climate change. The Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre has a webpage with a number of short films and videos presenting topics ranging from hurricanes and climate change to preparing for climate change and adaptation.
If there are other good (and recent) videos, films or documentaries that Strange Wetlands missed on this short list, please leave a comment below with the title and link. Thank you!
MerblogogyAn interactive blog about water resources and the ocean. Get involved with debates about the Gulf oil spill, dead zones, ecology, and other water issues. http://merblogogy.tumblr.com/
By Elizabeth Kreitinger – The Cornell Daily Sun – April 2, 2012
All too often we see the juxtaposition of conservation and rural livelihood securities as if they are two opposing forces, with humans on the one side and (insert charismatic mega-fauna here) on the other. http://www.cornellsun.com/blog/content/2012/04/02/sustainability-protect-wetlands
IMAX Documentary: To the ArcticAn extraordinary journey to the top of the world, the documentary adventure “To The Arctic” tells the ultimate tale of survival. Narrated by Oscar® winner Meryl Streep, the film takes audiences on a never-before-experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her twin seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home. http://www.imax.com/tothearctic/site.html
–“I would never, never build a pond—
–A water of which I am not fond.
I would not make one for a boat
I would not shape one like a moat
I would not build one to catch the rain
Nor as a place to entertain
I would not put one in a park
It’s a fatal place to store a shark
I would not place one near a house
Nor as a place to water grouse
I wouldn’t want one by a tree
Nor on a river to the sea
I would not build one here or there
I would not build one anywhere”
—Jeanne Christie
I am not a fan of man-made ponds. This amazes many landowners who believe the addition of a pond to their property is an amenity that is pleasing to them and good for wildlife. It is not so much that there is anything wrong with ponds as it is that there isn’t much right with them. Their steep sloped sides are unfriendly to aquatic plants and wildlife. The disturbed soils provide inviting conditions for many invasive species. They may steal water from rivers and streams in the arid west leaving fish with little water and low oxygen levels during the hot, dry months of the year. They are often located where a perfectly good wetland previously resided. Finally, they frequently play host for an ugly green algal bloom because their small size and bowl-like shape guarantee that they will be overwhelmed by nutrients that flow into them from the surrounding hillsides. Worst case is that with additional nutrients the green algae may be replaced by blue green algae, which can kill livestock, pets or wild animals that drink there.
My biggest gripe is that there are just so many of them.
Take a look out the window of an airplane the next time you take a flight and count the ponds. They are everywhere populating both urban and rural landscapes. And they count as wetlands. Since the first wetlands Status and Trends report covering the period from the 1950s to the 1970s, ponds have accounted for the greatest area of ‘wetland gain’ counted against ‘wetland losses’ to identify overall trends. In fact between the 1950s and 1997, the area of open water ponds in the lower 48 states doubled from 2.3 to 5.5 million acres, which equaled the total area occupied by all estuarine wetlands.
However, notwithstanding my personal aversion to ponds, there are good reasons to count them. First, there are many kinds of ponds. They include beaver ponds, farm ponds, water retention ponds, barrow pits, small open mine pits, dug outs, small residential area lakes, water traps on golfs courses, fish farms and natural ponds. From the air it is difficult to tell one type from another so they are all counted in the Fish and Wildlife Services’ Status and Trends reports. Also, some ponds change to higher quality waters over time. In addition, a large number of them come from upland habitat and represent new aquatic resources. Finally, there are far fewer ponds being built nowadays.
From 1950 to 1970 the acres of nonvegetated wetlands (ponds) increased by 1.7 million acres.
From the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s acres of ponds increased by 0.8 million acres.
From 1986 to 1997 acres of ponds increased by .6 million acres.
From 1998 to 2004 acres of ponds increased by .7 million acres.
From 2004 to 2009 acres of ponds increased by .2 million acres.
Over the past 20 years the public has come to appreciate that wetlands are important; they have also learned that created ponds aren’t really very good wetlands. This change in understanding and attitude was captured perfectly by Stephen Colbert who took issue with the Bush Administration for redefining the word, ‘wetlands’. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/61258/april-04-2006/the-word—birdie In truth the Bush Administration hadn’t changed anything. People did.
I believe that there are fewer ponds being built because programs and the public at large place more emphasis on restoring and protecting other, higher quality wetland types.
Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Hams was a ‘beginner book’ written using only 40 words. That’s my view of ponds—a project for beginners. We can do a lot better.
National Wetlands Inventory Status and Trends reports: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Status-And-Trends/index.html
Wetland Losses in the United States 1780s to 1980s
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/wetloss/
Technical Procedures for Conducting Status and Trends of the Nation’s Wetlands http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Documents/Technical-Procedures-for-Conducting-Status-and-Trends-of-the-Nations-Wetlands.pdf
Technical Aspects of Wetlands: History of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States
http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Documents/History-of-Wetlands-in-the-Conterminous-United-States.pdf
New Climate Change Rules by Swamp School – April 2012
The National Water Program 2012 Strategy: Response to Climate Change (Public Comment Draft) has just been released. Follow the link to read and comment of this new policy. The comments are due by May 17, 2012. For full blog post, go to: https://swampschool.infusionsoft.com/app/hostedEmail/1652584/884bc0c8a2ef5f3b/T
Hunters on both sides of controversial billsBy Bill Lueders – Wisconsin Watch – April 4, 2012
For instance, Safari Club International and United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, a lobby group formed last year, backed the state Assembly’s unsuccessful bill to revamp the state’s mining rules, while the Safari Club, Wisconsin Bear Hunters and United Sportsmen supported bills to relax state rules for developing on or near wetlands. For full blog post: http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2012/04/04/hunters-on-both-sides-of-controversial-bills/
