USGS National Wetlands Research Center: NWRC Director's Message

Director's Message

Welcome to the National Wetlands Research Center Homepage. Our Center has a talented staff of about 150 persons with a mix of scientific and technical skills, ranging from plant, wetland, and animal ecology to mapping, remote sensing, geographic information systems, computer and electronic technologies, information technologies, and water quality analysis. Our headquarters is located in Lafayette, Louisiana, where we are in a relatively new federal facility nestled within the research park of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. We also have field stations located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Gulf Breeze, Florida.

Initially our research activities served the needs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other Federal and State agencies with issues within the coastal zone of the United States. We continue that research activity to address the enormous losses of wetlands in coastal systems, the changes in fresh and estuarine systems because of changes in water quality, and the resulting effects on birds.

In the last few years, we have expanded our client base to include specifically the needs of the National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Minerals Management Service, all bureaus within the Department of the Interior. As a result, we have also expanded our research to address inland issues such as bottomland hardwoods and neotropical birds.

Additionally, we provide research and technical assistance support to the implementation of specific laws such as the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, or the Coastal Barriers Resources Act. Many of our products and services are being used by other Federal and State agencies in the development and execution of plans to restore coastal systems.

In the development of our research programs, we depend upon many partnerships. These partnerships include researchers from other Federal and State agencies, as well as numerous universities throughout the South. We have also formed partnerships with private industry to address land management issues that affect not only Federal lands but also private lands as well.

Administratively, our Wetlands Ecology Branch focuses on restoration of coastal marshes and prairies, the ecological processes that drive loss and restoration of wetlands, the effects of large-scale storms such as hurricanes, and the effects of global change, particularly sea-level rise. In particular, this branch conducts research to understand why coastal Louisiana is losing 25-35 square miles of emergent marsh each year, and what can be done to reverse this trend.

The Forest Ecology Branch conducts research on the functions, processes, and structure of forested wetlands to determine how to restore the millions of acres of these wetlands that have been lost.

Our Spatial Analysis Branch focuses on providing maps, remote-sensing research, and geographic information systems to help us understand what is changing in habitat structure across many landscapes, why these habitats are changing, and what the future holds. Our Center has the largest geographic information systems in government dealing with the loss of coastal wetlands.

To assist us in getting a wealth of information to those who need it in other agencies and the private sector, we have the Technology and Informatics Branch with writer-editors, graphic artists, librarians, and computer specialists.

If you would like more information on our programs or would like a tour of our facilities, please contact our public affairs liaison gaye_farris@usgs.gov or call 337 266-8500.

Greg Smith

nwrcdirector@usgs.gov

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