National Wetlands Inventory

The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service produces information on the characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation’s wetlands and deepwater habitats. The National Wetlands Inventory information is used by Federal, State, and local agencies, academic institutions, U.S. Congress, and the private sector. Congressional mandates in the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act requires the Service to map wetlands, and to digitize, archive and distribute the maps. With funding from other Federal, State, Tribal, local and private organizations, the Service has produced final maps for much of the nation. About half are digitized and available to the public on the Internet. Private companies provide NWI data in various other media. Hard-copy maps are available through Cooperator-run Distribution Centers.

A Congressional mandate also requires the Service to produce status and trends reports to Congress at ten-year intervals. We also produce other publications, including manuals, plant and hydric soils lists, field guides, posters, wall size resource maps, atlases, state reports, and numerous articles published in professional journals.

The National Wetlands Inventory is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, under the Division of Habitat and Resources Conservation, in the Branch of Habitat Assessment, with a small staff for management issues. National Wetlands Inventory Regional Coordinators, located in each of the Service's seven regions, produce maps and reports, provide quality control, training, technical assistance, and regional liaison. The National Wetlands Inventory Center (NWIC) is located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, providing support for mapping. Our new Wetlands Mapper was developed in cooperation with and is currently being managed through an agreement with USGS in Maddison, Wisconsin

NWI maps and digitial data are distributed widely throughout the country and the world. We have distributed over 1.9 million hard-copy maps and over 1.9 million digital wetland map files since they were first introduced and customers have printed another 1.4 million custom maps. NWI wetlands status and trends and other reports are used widely and referenced in policy decisions.

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Last Updated August 21, 2008