Wetlands Restoration

Wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, filter out water pollutants and protect property from flooding and erosion. Recognizing these values, Chesapeake Bay Program partners have committed to increase both the quality and number of wetland acres in the Bay watershed.

Chesapeake Bay Program Goal to Restore Wetlands

The Chesapeake 2000 agreement charged Chesapeake Bay Program partners with restoring 25,000 acres of tidal and non-tidal wetlands in the Bay watershed by 2010. These wetland acres would be gained through voluntary projects. In 2005, Bay Program partners clarified this goal to track only wetland establishment and re-establishment projects, which represent true gains in wetland acreage.

As of 2008, Bay Program partners had restored approximately 13,000 acres of wetlands, which is 52 percent of the 25,000-acre “acreage gain” goal. A separate goal was established in 2005 to track “functional gains” (enhancement and rehabilitation) on additional acres of the Bay watershed's existing wetlands.

Types of Wetland Projects

There are five specific definitions scientists use to track wetland gains:

• Establishment is creating a wetland where one did not previously exist.
• Re-establishment is returning a former wetland to its natural, historic state. Usually, former wetlands have been drained for another use, such as agriculture.
• Enhancement is improving one or more of an existing wetland's functions, such as flooding a seasonal wetland to benefit waterfowl.
• Rehabilitation is repairing the historic functions of a degraded, existing wetland, such as removing invasive species like nutria and phragmites.
• Protection is acquiring land or easements of at least 30 years.

Establishment and re-establishment are considered wetland acreage gains, whereas enhancement and rehabilitation only improve the function of existing wetland acres. Protection is not considered to be a gain in acreage or function.