What is the role of vegetated buffers in mitigating for impacts to the aquatic environment?

Answer: Like wetlands, vegetated buffers are a critical need for the overall aquatic environment, and in fact, many vegetated buffers are also wetlands.  The ultimate purpose of creating vegetated buffers (and wetlands) is to protect the aquatic ecosystem.  Sometimes the best protection is provided by a wetland, sometimes a vegetated buffer, and sometimes a combination of the two.  The Corps’ regulatory intent is to make the best mitigation choice for aquatic environment based on the needs of the watershed.  Finally, it’s important to note that Corps districts must meet the “no net loss” of wetlands goals programmatically.  So, if the best answer in a given situation is to create a vegetated buffer as mitigation for a wetland, the district must still achieve enough acreage in wetlands mitigation elsewhere to meet the no net loss goal.  Ultimately, the big winner in such a decision is the aquatic ecosystem.