Wetlands – Some of Nature’s Most Valuable Real Estate

1. Wetlands – Some of Nature’s Most Valuable Real Estate Dr. John M. Galbraith Virginia Tech For: Piedmont Environmental Council April 24, 2006

2. Why are wetlands valuable? A: Wetlands provide all of us with critical services:  • remove or sequester pollutants and toxic substances • trap suspended sediment • reduce flood damages (delay and minimize peak events) • reduce storm damages (protect shorelines) • provide important habitat for plants and wildlife • recharge groundwater supplies • provide valuable recreational opportunities and income from fishing, hunting and bird watching • improve aesthetics and open space, and • provide unique sites for education and science Source: The Wetland’s Initiative http://www.wetlands-initiative.org/TWIfaqs.html

3. Q: If wetlands are so valuable, why don’t we have more of them? A: Throughout the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, wetlands were regarded as a waste of land, viewed as a source of mosquitoes, unpleasant odors, and disease. Because abundant wildlife and fresh clean water were in such ‘limitless’ supply, we were unaware of the important role played by wetlands in maintaining the systems on which our survival depends. Nor were we aware of the direct relationship between wetland loss and the intensity and frequency of floods. Consequently, about 80 to 90 percent of the region’s wetlands were drained, ditched, filled or levied off to make room for what we once believed were ‘more important uses’: agricultural, urban, industrial and recreational development. We are only now beginning to understand the heavy price we pay for development in wetlands.

4. The Value of Wetlands in CA Much of the planet's life depends on the existence of wetlands. They are vital to the survival of many fish and other aquatic life forms, birds, and plants. They filter and clean water, prevent soil erosion, and provide flood control among numerous other benefits. Even as appreciation for the benefits provided by wetlands has grown over the last couple of decades, wetlands continue to be filled, drained, and dredged. California today has only 10 percent of the wetlands that existed before settlement by Europeans. The Central Valley once had vast wetlands extending over some 4 million acres; these have diminished to a mere 300,000 acres. Only 5 percent of the state's coastal wetlands remain intact. Government efforts in response to these losses have come in the form of legal restrictions on uses of wetlands as well as protection through acquisition, restoration, and management. While these approaches have done a great deal to preserve wetlands and prevent their indiscriminate destruction, they cannot reach all wetlands. The lands with the greatest potential for wetland restoration and management are mostly in private ownership. Landowners have the opportunity to play a significant stewardship role. Source: California's Valuable Wetlands http://ceres.ca.gov/wetlands/introduction/values.html

5. Q: What can I do to help preserve wetlands? A: If you live near a wetland, you live near an important natural resource. You have the opportunity—indeed, the responsibility—to be a steward of that resource. Start by being a good neighbor to the wetland. Practice environmentally-sensitive activities to decrease the amount of nutrients, pollutants, and sediment that enter the wetland.

6. Wetland Losses in Virginia Forested Wetlands • Virginia has lost 42 percent of its original wetlands since the 1780s. Substantial wetland losses continue to occur. • During the 1980s in the Chesapeake Bay drainage, the greatest loss of forested wetlands was in Virginia. • Between 1982 and 1989, Virginia lost more than 17,800 acres of wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, primarily due to conversion for agriculture and urban-related development. Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program in Virginia @ http://www.fws.gov/partners/pdfs/VA-needs.pdf

7. Virginia Non-tidal Wetlands DEQ WETLANDS PROGRAM INITIATIVES http://www.deq.state.va.us/wqa/pdf/305b2002/twoseven.pdf • About 22% of the wetlands in Virginia are in the Piedmont, making it second only to the Coastal Plain (72%).

8. Piedmont Wetlands • Most are on terraces of rivers or in floodplains of streams and rivers (see figures below) • Wetlands extend upslope from the inflection point between terrace or floodplain and upland • Terraces: Found at and uphill from the contact point of bedrock-controlled uplands and terraces, or at the base of terrace risers • Floodplains: Found at and uphill from the contact of bedrock-controlled uplands or in the sand bar or backswamp positions

9. Runoff recharge Flooding Recharge Yazoostream River Gravelly layer Groundwater Discharges in rock fissures Regional Water Table Impermeable layer, possibly bedrock Discharge in Piedmont Systems With Seeps

10. Flooding Recharge Yazoo stream River Gravelly layer Groundwater Discharges in fissures Regional Water Table Impermeable layer, possibly bedrock Discharge in Piedmont Systems Without Seeps

11. Well drainedupland or terrace Moderately well drained Well drained (dry-edge) Moderately well drained upland Somewhat poorly drained Very Poorly drained Poorly drained River bar Hydric soils Soil Drainage Class in Piedmont Systems Poorly drained Water table Hydric soils

12. Do we Protect Wetlands or Protect Individual Property Owner Rights? • Can we do both? There must be a happy medium. • Articles 1 and 2 below show different viewpoints as to how much protection is reasonable for the existing wetlands

13. Article 1: Protecting Ecologically Valuable Wetlands Without Destroying Property Rights To restore the original purpose of the Clean Water Act, that is, to prevent pollution from spreading from one body of water to another, the revised wetlands Delineation Manual should exclude the "wetlands" designation to any tract if: • 1) it is not located close enough to another "water of the United States" for natural water flows to carry pollutants from the wetland into another such water, or • 2) the physical nature of the wetland makes it generally impossible for pollutants to be carried out of the wetland via normal water flows. by William G. Laffer IIIhttp://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/BG840.cfm

14. Article 2: Wetlands, Wonderlands: What's a Wetland Worth? $1 • Just what is a wetland worth? That depends on the perspective you choose. Talk to a subdivision developer, a farmer, a highway department official, a wildlife biologist or an environmentalist and you'll get five very different answers. • From an individual owner's perspective, a wetland may be worth as much or as little as the product one can obtain from the land: the price of a condo, a year's supply of "craisins" (dried cranberries), a season's crop of corn. For the rest of us, the presence or absence of wetlands may mean a difference in our tax bill, a few cents more or less for produce at the market or a dollar or two more for fishing or hunting licenses. Bills for the loss of plant or animal species and the lack of attractive open space don't come due as quickly - but they eventually are paid by all of us. • As you can see from the ledger sheet, there are some very concrete costs and benefits associated with Wisconsin wetlands. You'll notice there's no "grand total" because it's impossible to put a price on the value of slipping through reeds in a canoe, huddling in a duck blind for the first time with your youngster, or hearing the call of the Canada goose while waiting at bus stop in the city.

15. Wetlands, Wonderlands: What's a Wetland Worth? $2 Bolstering the Economy • First of all, wetlands contribute income from recreation to the state economy. Waterfowl hunters directly depend on wetlands for their sport. Other hunters, including those who seek pheasant and deer, frequently hunt in or near wetlands. Anglers likewise rely heavily on wetlands, though they may not fish in marshes or swamps: Many fish spawn in wetlands, using them as nursery grounds and a source of food. Wetlands also keep river and lake water clean for fish (and swimmers). • Manufacturers and merchants of sporting equipment such as guns, ammunition, fishing rods, fishing tackle, boats, canoes, motors, binoculars, field guides, camera equipment, film, ice chests and outdoor clothing receive income from wetland recreationists as well. So do the owners of cafes, motels and gas stations who serve wetland visitors. If even one percent of the total outfitting and hospitality revenues to Wisconsin businesses can be attributed to activities in or depending on wetlands, the value is $9,442,153 per year. • Wisconsinites as a whole benefit when hunters, trappers and anglers recreate in wetlands: Direct payments come to the state in the form of hunting, trapping, and fishing license fees, duck stamps, and trout stamps. Hunters and anglers pay an excise tax on all sporting arms, ammunition, fishing gear, boats, motors and gasoline; this money comes back to each state in the form of Dingell-Johnson or Pittman-Robertson funds for use on fish- and wildlife-related projects. Since many hunters and anglers use wetlands in one form or another, we can figure Wisconsin gets a certain percentage of the funds as a result of wetlands.

16. Wetlands, Wonderlands: What's a Wetland Worth? $3 Bolstering the Economy (cont.) • Waterfowl hunters are almost wholly dependent on wetlands. Each year 100,000 migratory bird hunters spend about $46,000,000 to pursue their sport - that's a lot of bucks bolstering our state's economy. Waterfowlers must purchase a state hunting license, a state waterfowl stamp ($3.25) and a federal Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp ($12.50). About one third of the state waterfowl stamp money is used to protect and enhance waterfowl breeding grounds in Canada, where most of our waterfowl originate. The remainder is used to refurbish and maintain waterfowl habitat right here in Wisconsin. Money collected by the federal government through the sale of its stamp is returned to Wisconsin; the funds have been used to purchase thousands of acres of wetland and upland waterfowl production areas. • Birdwatchers, wildlife photographers, canoeists, hikers, skiers and campers often use wetlands in recreational pursuits. If even one percent of the equipment and hospitality expenses of non-consumptive wildlife-related activities is attributed to wetlands, then Wisconsin business make $1,054,360 annually on the deal.

17. Wetlands, Wonderlands: What's a Wetland Worth? $4 Lowering the Bill for Public Works In addition to their habitat and recreational values, wetlands help protect water quality and reduce flood levels. How do we put a price tag on these functions? One way is to consider what is costs society to fix the damage that results when wetlands are absent. • First, let's look at water pollution. Rain water flowing over the lands picks up sediment, fertilizer, road salt, pesticides and other pollutants. Wetlands act like buffers: the water slows down in wetlands, allowing sediment and some pollutants to settle. Moreover, other pollutants are absorbed by wetland plants before they reach lakes and streams; plants such as cattails, water hyacinths and reeds can consume large quantities of nitrogen and phosphorous from polluted water. • Over the past 20 years, Wisconsin has earmarked tax money to clean up lakes, control nonpoint pollution and restore wetland buffers along lakes and streams. Wetland loss certainly isn't the only cause of our water pollution problems, and we haven't developed a consistent tool for measuring the contribution of wetlands to clean water. But even if one percent of the total of Wisconsin's nonpoint, lake cleanup and wetland restoration bills could have been avoided by protecting existing wetlands, we might have saved $1 million dollars since 1979. • Duane Johnson, Wisconsin's top official with the United States Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service (SCS) estimates that the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) alone could result in water quality benefits to Wisconsin worth $135 million.

18. Wetlands, Wonderlands: What's a Wetland Worth? $5 Lowering the Bill for Public Works (cont.) • Next, consider flooding. Floods certainly occurred before people altered wetlands. But wetlands help reduce flood levels by slowing runoff and storing water so stream channels don't overflow as much or as fast. Again, wetland loss is only one of several contributing factors to flooding - and we don't have that perfect stick to measure the contribution of wetlands to flood protection. Avoiding one percent of Wisconsin flood damages would have saved about $1.5 million each year. Wetlands are Priceless • While we know that wetland protection might have helped us save on pollution control and flood relief, balancing the books isn't so easy. We should enter figures for some portion of both public and private costs of weedy lakes and wet basements, add in the property tax paid on waterfront development, plus the profit farmers and developers made - which determined in part what we paid for corn and condos. Last Revised: Friday December 02 2005 Article by Mary Kay Judd and Mary Ellen Vollbrecht @ http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/wetlands/pub_ww_worth.shtml

19. Wisconsin DNR Example Our publication Reversing the Loss: A Strategy for Protecting and Restoring Wetlands in Wisconsin @http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/wetlands/documents/Reversing_the_Loss.pdf (PDF, 1.03MB) charts a course for DNR programs involved in wetland education, protection, restoration, enhancement and management.