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What is a State Wetland Conservation Plan?
A tool that States, Territories, and Tribes are using to protect wetlands
is the State Wetland Conservation Plan (SWCP). A State Wetland Conservation
Plan is not meant to create a new level of bureaucracy. Instead, it improves
government and private sector effectiveness and efficiency by identifying
gaps in wetland protection programs and finding opportunities to make
wetlands programs work even better.
| State Wetland Conservation Plan are strategies for States
to achieve no net loss and other wetland management goals by integrating
both regulatory and nonregulatory approaches to protecting wetlands.
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Advantages
A large number of land- and water-based activities impact wetlands. These
activities are not addressed by any single Federal, State or local agency
program. While many public and private programs and activities protect
wetlands, these programs are often limited in scope and not well coordinated.
Neither do these programs address all of the problems affecting wetlands.
States, Territories, and Tribes are well positioned between Federal and
local government to take the lead in integrating and expanding wetland
protection and management programs. They are experienced in managing Federally
mandated environmental programs under the Clean Water Act and the Coastal
Zone Management Act. They are uniquely equipped to help resolve local
and regional conflicts and identify the local economic and geographic
factors that may influence wetlands protection.
What are States doing?
- Texas' SWCP will focus upon non-regulatory and voluntary approaches
to wetland protection to complement its regulatory program. The plan
will encourage development of economic incentives for private landowners
to protect wetlands and educational outreach for State and local officials.
- Tennessee's plan focuses on a strategy to collect wetland information
for outreach and education to private owners of wetlands as well as
to regional and local decision-makers. Current implementation efforts
include identification of critical functions of major wetland types,
priority sites for acquisition and/or restoration, as well as maintenance
and restoration of natural floodplain hydrology through digitization
and use of remote sensing.
- Maine's SWCP will focus on ways to establish better coordination between
State and Federal regulatory programs, as well as new non -regulatory
mechanisms to foster voluntary stewardship. In addition, the State expects
to use an ecosystem framework to guide the prioritization of wetlands
for comprehensive protection, and review and improve compensatory mitigation
banking policies.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- See the Statewide Wetlands Strategies guidebook, which is available
from Island Press (1-800-828-1302).
- Ask for copies of the SWCP brochure "Why Develop a State Wetland
Conservation Plan?" from the EPA Wetlands Information Hotline
(contractor operated).
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