USGS National Wetlands Research Center: NWRC Mission

NWRC Mission

The mission of the National Wetlands Research Center is to develop and disseminate scientific information needed for understanding the ecology and values of our nation's wetlands and for managing and restoring wetland habitats and associated plant and animal communities.

The National Wetlands Research Center is a source and clearinghouse of science information about wetlands in the United States and the world for fellow agencies, private entities, academia, and the public at large. Staff members obtain and provide this information by performing original scientific research and developing research results into literature and technological tools. They then disseminate that information through a variety of means.

On a National level, the Center provides information on wetland habitats through a system of peer reviewed journal articles, databases, synthesis reports, workshops, conferences, technical assistance, training, and information/library services. Often the information or databases reside at other organizations, including other USGS field offices and research centers. On a Regional basis, the Center solves wetland-related problems and conducts status and trends inventories of wetland habitats, evaluates wetland problems, and conducts field and laboratory research on wetland issues. Center research includes a broad array of projects on wetland ecology, values, management, restoration and creation, plus research on the ecology of a wide variety of plant and animal species and communities that are found in wetlands. We provide people with the knowledge, insight, and abilities that enable them to make sound decisions about vital wetland resources.

Wetland losses, restoration, and management are a serious concern nationwide. The largest acreage of remaining wetlands (and highest wetland losses) occur in the southern region. NWRC's research focuses on estuarine, marine, and freshwater wetlands. Along the coasts, the Center works on issues related to marine seagrasses and corals, estuarine waters, marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation, mangrove swamps, and freshwater areas of open water, marshes, submerged vegetation, forests and coastal prairies. Farther inland the Center has work underway on forested wetlands, including bottomland hardwoods, cypress-tupelo swamps, and pine savannas. The Center has a small number of field sites scattered across the nation, and a large number of sites in the southern portions of the United States from North Carolina to the Texas-Mexico border.

Tom Doyle and graduate student examine mangrove experiment

In addition to understanding the structure, functions and processes of these wetland systems, the Center's research program includes studies that will guide the conservation of wetland-dependent flora and fauna, including rare or exotic plants, waterfowl, wading and Neotropical birds, fish, herps, and invertebrates. Many other specific topics that contribute to our understanding of the ecology of wetland ecosystems such as biodiversity, genetics, water quality, contaminants, nutrient cycling, and exotic species are also addressed through research at the Center.

The Center also develops technologies that will aid natural resource managers (Federal, State, and private) in determining the status and trends of wetland habitats. These technologies include remote sensing, geographic information systems, and computer models that simulate the influence of environmental change and management activities on wetlands. Training in the use of advanced technologies is a somewhat unique role of the National Wetlands Research Center, but it is an essential component of the Center's effort to enable natural resource managers to monitor complex and rapidly changing wetland environments, in a manner that fosters both feedback and continual improvement.

Direct outreach and technical assistance, important functions of the Center, are provided to managers of state and national parks, wildlife refuges , other public lands, and private lands. Most work at the Center involves cooperators from other agencies and universities. The NWRC mission is in step with the BRD mission to work with others to provide the scientific understanding and technologies needed to support the sound management of our Nation's biological resources.

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