Contentious Wetlands and Connections to Streams: Using Science to inform Policy and Practice

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2 Contentious Wetlands and Connections to Streams: Using Science to inform Policy and Practice Riparia - a Center where science informs policy and practice in wetlands ecology, landscape hydrology, and watershed management Robert P. Brooks, Ph.D. Professor of Geography and Ecology, Director of Riparia

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4 Questions?

5 Supplementary Information posted online: 1 Aquatic Landscapes: the importance of integrating waters 2 Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Classification, Inventory, and Reference Wetlands 3 Linking Landscape to Wetland Condition: Case Study of Eight Headwaters 4 Hydrology of Mid-Atlantic Freshwater Wetlands 5 Hydric Soils of Mid-Atlantic Freshwater Wetlands 6 Hydrophytes of the Mid-Atlantic Region: Ecology, Communities, Assessment, and Diversity 7 Wetland-Riparian Wildlife of the Mid-Atlantic Region 8 Wetland-Riparian Birds of the Mid-Atlantic Region 9 Assessing Wetland-Riparian Amphibian and Reptile Communities 10 Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of the Mid-Atlantic Region 11 Monitoring and Assessment of Wetlands: Concepts, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned 12 Wetlands Restoration and Mitigation 13 Policy and Regulatory Programs Affecting Wetlands and Waters of the Mid-Atlantic Region 14 Conservation and Management of Wetlands and Aquatic Landscapes: Connectivity

6 Presentation Outline What are wetlands? How wetlands inspire artists, students & scientists? What essential ecosystem services wetlands provide? Why wetlands are contentious & highly regulated? What are some current projects addressing water quality on agricultural lands?

7 soil plants water

8 Wetland Definition The term wetlands means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

9 Contentious So, what is happening to wetlands? Loss of wetland area Degradation of functions, values, & services Policy = No net loss of area & function (and long term gain) (Conservation Foundation, 1988) Consistent through administrations of 4 U.S. Presidents Mitigation Policy continues to be Avoid Minimize Mitigate

10 National Wetlands Inventory Status & Trends Decrease in losses, increases in conservation and restoration over time Dahl 2011

11 Agricultural encroachment in riparian corridor, ND

12 Barrier Island Erosion LA Coastal Wetlands & Sea Level Rise

13 Landscape suburban conversion, wetlands TX

14 Essential because wetlands and streams provide free ecosystem services Provide habitat for a diversity of wetlanddependent wildlife Buffer coasts from storm surges Provide scientific, educational, recreational, and artistic opportunities Store and release of floodwaters Retain and transform nutrients & pollutants

15 FLORA

16 FAUNA

17 Migratory routes & habitats - wintering snow geese, DE

18 Coastal salt marsh and bays of New Jersey Most (90%) commercial finfish and shellfish rely on wetlands

19 Recreation & Tourism

20 Inspiring

21 Flood storage & desynchronization

22 Atmosphere N 2 NH 3 Oxidized Soil Layer Soil Nitrification NH + NO - 2 NO Denitrification Leaching Org DON Reduced Soil Layer N NH 4 + NO 3 - Denitrification N 2, N 2 O Diffusion Transformation of Nutrients Simplified Nitrogen Cycle (JB Moon, Riparia)

23 Atmosphere N 2 NH 3 Oxidized Soil Layer Soil Nitrification NH + NO - 2 NO Denitrification Leaching Org DON Reduced Soil Layer N NH 4 + NO 3 - Denitrification N 2, N 2 O Diffusion Transformation of Nutrients Simplified Nitrogen Cycle (JB Moon, Riparia)

24 Ecosystem services Habitat for diversity of water-dependent wildlife Enhanced outdoor recreational opportunities Reduction in flood and storm damages Higher quality water supplies for drinking water Water for agriculture, and energy & industrial uses Higher quality of life Research studies and surveys have shown that citizens and the leaders and employees of corporations want and benefit from high quality water resources from wetlands and streams.

25 Riparia s Reference Wetlands Collection (n = 222)

26 Riparia s Database of Reference Wetlands Assessing degradation Designing mitigation and restoration projects Evaluating performance of projects Interactive website to provide data to practitioners

27 Rapanos vs. United States Under the authority of the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Federal government regulates most activities that could alter the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. Prohibition on discharge of any pollutants, including dredged or fill material, into navigable waters. Navigable waters are broadly defined, now, from seas and estuaries up to headwaters.

28 Rapanos vs. United States Supreme Court decision(s) now require an analysis of whether a wetland in question provides a significant nexus to traditionally navigable waters Justice Kennedy explained that the Corps jurisdiction over wetlands depends upon the existence of a significant nexus between the wetlands in question and navigable waters in the traditional sense." " perform critical functions related to the integrity of other waters functions such as pollutant trapping, flood control, and runoff storage." Guidance documents addressing policy (USEPA & Corps 2007) and practice (Corps & USEPA 2007, USEPA & Corps 2011)

29 Rapanos - Definitions of Features Abutting Wetland Not separated from the tributary by an upland berm Always jurisdictional Abutting wetland Wetland WUS from Emily Brooks Dolbin

30 Rapanos - Definitions of Features Adjacent Wetland Bordering, contiguous, or neighboring Separated from WUS by man-made dikes or barriers, natural river berms etc Always jurisdictional Wetland Berm, Road, Pipe, or any other barrier WUS

31 Stream Order & Wetland Connections RPW (Perennial) RPW (Perennial) Non-RPW (draining only uplands) Non-RPW (erotional) Non-RPW (low duration flow) RPW (Perennial) Non-RPW (with wetland upstream outside of study area) RPW (Intermittent) Non-RPW (Draining only uplands) Non-RPW (with adjacent wetland)

32 The politics of water and wetland regulation EPA and Corps: Proposed Rule to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands (Leaked Sep 2013, issued officially Apr 2014, accepting comments until Oct 2014) EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD): Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A review and synthesis of the scientific evidence (125,000+ comments submitted) EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Panel: Reviewed the Connectivity synthesis and issued report, and commented on Proposed Rule

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35 What do you consider to be a healthy, sustainable agrarian landscape?

36 Mayer et al (EPA)

37 Current and Proposed Projects (Penn State, ARS, ): Penn State s Center for Nutrient Solutions (CNS) - interdisciplinary team models, validating, and proposing solutions (BMPS & inventions) to manage nutrients for WQ Approach for Riparian Conservation Plans (on-going w/ NRCS) - use SWR Index to monitor and assess *Riparian Grazing (led by University of Vermont with Northeast Pasture Consortium (submitted to USDA spring 2014) *Optimizing Agricultural Landscapes for Water Quality and Availability (submitted to USDA in summer 2014) - how to balance farm production & profitability and conservation of aquatic ecosystems with precise spatial analysis

38 Categories of BMPs and Interventions (CNS): Conservation cropping systems (no-till, cover crops, double cropping, alternative crops, perennials, ) Livestock management (species, manure management, feeding adjustments, local feed) Grazing and pasture management (species, intensity, seasonality, timing (e.g., flash grazing), grain) Perennial crops and naturally vegetated riparian buffers (land retirements, protecting sensitive areas, combined buffers) Farming/Community Infrastructure (litter export, drainage management, precision feeding)

39 Conservation Benefits: Selected Ecosystem Services 1 - WATER PURIFICATION (HAVING CLEANER WATER; IMPROVED WATER QUALITY; RETAIN, REMOVE, TRANSFORM NUTRIENTS) 2- WATER-BASED RECREATION (FISHING, SWIMMING, BOATING) 3- ECOLOGICAL HEALTH (NON-USE VALUES FOR ENTIRE SYSTEM OF STREAM-WETLAND-RIPARIAN BIODIVERSITY) 4- FLOOD STORAGE & DESYNCHRONIZATION (REDUCED DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND CROPS FLOODPLAINS AND RIPARIAN BUFFERS FILTER UPLAND SOURCES OF NUTRIENTS) 5 CARBON SEQUESTRATION (ESTIMATES BASED ON LAND USE CONVERSION (e.g., crop to forest) or VEGETATION/SOIL BASED CARBON PER UNIT AREA)

40 What have we learned? Wetlands are: Hydrology, Hydric Soils, Hydrophytes Wetlands inspire artists, students & scientists: Painting, literature, photography, recreation Wetlands provide essential ecosystem services: FREE! Ecological functions & Societal values Wetlands are contentious highly regulated: Historic losses reduced w/ regulation & education Conservation, mitigation and voluntary restoration can help improve water quality of streams and other waterbodies

41 What can we do to conserve wetlands to benefit from free ecosystem services? Support land & water conservation programs Build better wetlands (mitigation & restoration) Increase awareness and visitations (e.g., Wetland Treasures of America)