Wetlands Restoration
Restoration helps return damaged wetlands to their original condition prior to disturbance. This practice of improving and replacing wetlands is gaining support around the country and is helping to prevent further wetlands loss. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "current Federal initiatives call for a wide range of restoration actions, including improving or restoring 25,000 miles of stream or corridor; achieving a net increase of 100,000 acres of wetlands each year, and establishing two million miles of conservation buffers."
There are four types of restoration:
- Creation -- constructing a wetland in an area that is isolated from existing wetlands and has not been a wetland within the last 100 to 200 years. Wetlands are created by excavating upland soils to elevations that support the growth of wetland species.
- Enhancement -- modifying the structure of an existing wetland so that it increases one of its functions.
- Reallocation -- existing wetlands are converted to other types of wetlands.
- Mitigation -- compensates for wetlands losses through the creation, enhancement, or restoration of other wetlands areas, in accordance with section 404 of the Clean Water Act so that there is "no net loss" of wetlands.
The Florida Wetland Evaluation and Delineation provides tools and research materials needed for the implementation and management of restoration projects. The site includes direct links to current restoration projects throughout Florida, restoration case studies, sources of funding, restoration related links and approaches to restoration in other states.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory produces and distributes maps and other geospatial data on American wetland habitats, as well as monitor changes in these habitats through time.