Over the past 200 years, more than 50 percent of the wetlands in the coterminous U.S. have been lost and many of the remaining wetlands are degraded.

These losses and alterations compromise the important benefits provided by wetlands including protecting water quality, providing habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals, and reducing flood damage. While preserving remaining wetland resources is critical to our nation’s environmental health, restoring, creating, and enhancing wetlands also is essential to improving the quality of aquatic systems.

Because wetlands are so important to the earth’s ecosystems and human society, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) worked together to develop this document designed for people wishing to support or undertake wetland projects.

Many documents about wetland restoration, creation, and enhancement activities are technical or scientific in nature and are designed for experts. This document, however, is not a scientific paper. It is designed specifically for individuals, community groups, municipalities, or others who have little or no experience in this field. We have written to a general audience for a number of reasons:

• Most land in the U.S. is in private ownership; significant increases in wetland quality and quantity can be achieved if private landowners restore, create, or enhance wetlands on their property.
• Many EPA, NOAA, FWS, and NRCS programs support public involvement in wetland projects efforts; information on wetland restoration, creation, and enhancement for the general public may enhance those programs.
• Restoration is an important, growing environmental field. The general public can benefit from access to basic information about restoration, creation, and enhancement, and may become encouraged to become involved in and support wetland projects.

Developing a guide on wetland restoration, creation, and enhancement applicable across the nation is difficult for a number of reasons. First, the terms “restoration,” “creation,” and “enhancement” encompass a wide range of activities related to establishing or re-establishing wetlands. Second, climate, region, wetland type and local conditions determine the type of wetland project that is most appropriate. Third, the goals of people undertaking wetland projects vary widely and these goals influence what kind of activities are best suited to a particular site.

Given the broad scope of the subject matter, this document is designed to achieve two goals:

• Introduce non-technical readers to the basics of wetland projects including planning, implementing, and monitoring, and
• Direct interested persons to documents and resources specific to a particular region or wetland type.

The document is organized around these two goals. The text gives information on wetlands, background on the practice of restoration, creation, and enhancement, and information on the process involved in undertaking a wetland project. The appendices provide documents, web sites, agencies, and other resources for finding additional information and advice on restoration, creation, and enhancement projects.

As you read this document, it will become clear that wetland projects vary considerably in size and complexity. In some cases, one person’s efforts (fencing out cows, mowing instead of tilling, or eliminating the use of pesticides) can substantially improve a degraded site. On the other hand, teamwork and the help of specialists is usually required for establishing new wetlands or restoring sites with extensive damage. In her book Restoring Streams in Cities, Ann Riley (1998) states that most restoration projects require teams of people with expertise in areas such as ecology, hydrology, engineering, and planning, among others.

Many landowners enroll in federal or state programs in which the public agency puts together a team of specialists who help with the wetland project. Other landowners or citizen groups may not be eligible for these programs or simply may want to organize the project themselves. Whether you are enrolled in a wetland program or are organizing a wetland project yourself, this guide will help you understand what types of people and resources to consult in order to plan, implement, and monitor your wetland project.

The agencies who have worked on this informational document want it to be as useful as possible. Please give us your thoughts and comments on the information provided here.

Write us or e-mail us care of:
Susan-Marie Stedman
NOAA Fisheries F/HC
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Download An Introduction and User's Guide to Wetland Restoration, Creation, and Enhancement

PDF format, 8.8MB, 92Pages.

A Guide for the Public Containing:
Background on wetlands and restoration
Information on project planning, implementation, and monitoring
Lists of resources, contacts, and funding sources

Developed by the Interagency Workgroup on Wetland Restoration: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service

Introduction: Why Restore, Create, or Enhance Wetlands?

The public’s interest in the renewal of natural ecosystems has grown steadily during the past few decades. While preservation of habitat is a key to environmental health, there is a growing awareness that restoration, creation, and enhancement are essential to recover ecosystems that have been degraded or destroyed. Wetland habitats are the focus of many recovery efforts because over the past 200 years the area and health of wetlands have declined significantly. Less than 46 percent of the 215 million acres of wetlands estimated to exist in the contiguous U.S. when Europeans arrived remain. Prior to the mid-1970s, the draining and destruction of wetlands were accepted practices. Many wetlands altered by humans were drained to support agricultural uses, while others were filled for urban development, diked for water impoundments or to diminish flooding, or dredged for marinas and ports. Indirect impacts from pollutants, urban runoff, and invasion by non-native species continue to degrade and destroy wetlands.

Scientists and policy makers also recognize the value of wetland restoration. In 1992, scientists completed a study for the National Research Council that called for the development of a national wetlands restoration strategy. Since then, federal agencies have been working with partners to achieve a net increase of 100,000 acres of wetlands per year by 2005. This goal will be reached only through carefully planned and implemented restoration and creation projects that add ecologically valuable wetlands to the landscape. States and the federal government are funding and conducting large-scale ecosystem restorations, such as the South Florida/Everglades Ecosystem Restoration, which are contributing to the national wetland goal. However, without the support of citizens and local groups around the country the 100,000 acre per year goal cannot be reached.

For many decades, citizens have been restoring, creating, and enhancing wetland habitats through local non-profit organizations. In addition, citizens have become involved in wetland projects through government programs. Despite these efforts, the nation is still losing more wetlands than it gains each year. This document is designed to support and further encourage landowner and community-based wetland projects. ...

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