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PROTECTING
WETLANDS
Suppose your
school is near a wetland that is surrounded by land slated for development.
What could you do to protect this wetland?
Begin by bringing
in wetlands experts to delineate and define the wetland. Identify
adjacent landowners and other interested people; invite them to
tour the site and then meet to discuss a plan.
Establish goals,
which will probably include:
- Establish
protection for the wetland.
- Prevent any
further damage from occurring.
- Repair what
damage you can.
- Educate
the public about the presence of the wetland and how they can
help.
You can work
with private landowners, local governments, and area conservation
groups to evaluate and choose from a number of protection options,
including:
- Conservation
easement: This legal agreement, usually between a private landowner
and an agency or nonprofit organization, restricts the amount
and type of development and protects natural features such as
wetlands.
- Lease: Rent
the wetland to a government agency or nonprofit organization for
a specific period of time. (Lease arrangements are most commonly
used to restore or enhance wetlands; see box on page 32.)
- Donation:
The landowner gives the property to a nonprofit organization and
receives a generous tax deduction and the assurance that the land
will be maintained as a wetland.
- Sale: Sell
the land to a nonprofit organization that will either maintain
the land or turn it over to an appropriate government agency.
Effective wetlands
preservation includes providing for future use and care. For example,
a protected wetland near your school will doubtless draw public
interest and also provide an outdoor laboratory for all students
at your school.
Plan for these
inevitable uses by consulting with wetlands experts who can help
you establish low-impact trails and boating access, parking, and
any other facilities that might be needed.
Include a public
relations or education campaign in your strategy: Let the public
know about your work and the presence of this habitat, and at the
same time inform them through video, ads, and articles how to use
this resource safely and with minimum impact.
Protection
Success
Rancher:
On Flat Ranch, on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River in Idaho,
you are as likely to see sandhill cranes as you are cows, plus birders
and anglers or cowboys. This 1600 acre ranch keeps cows moving in
a grazing rotation that protects the land. The riparian areas are
being revegetated with willows and other wetlands plants. And each
year more visitors come to enjoy the recreation provided on this
ranch, which is owned by the Nature Conservancy.
Partnerships:
Nonprofit groups and government agencies formed a partnership to
protect one of Idaho's last high-desert, spring-fed wetlands. Chilly
Slough, in the Big Lost River Valley, provides habitat for rare
plants and more than 134 bird species. Its 1,000-acres are maintained
by The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation,
Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
School group:
Fifth graders from Wendell Elementary, in Wendell, Idaho, have
planted marsh grasses to restore an eroded wetland and help a larger
wetland mitigation project that will use wetlands to clean irrigation
water.
Learn
More About What is a Wetland...
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