Product Description: A steadily increasing appreciation of the value of wetlands and recognition of the factors leading to their loss have spurred the federal government to introduce a series of programs to regulate and manage wetlands. The benefits of these wetland protection programs accrue to the general public, while the largest share of protection costs are borne by private landowners...read more

Product Description: Wetlands are a valuable natural resource, yet over 200,000 acres are destroyed in the United States each year. An alternative recently promoted to improve wetland protection is state assumption of the law governing wetland protection, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (section 404)...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

This book brings together in compact form a broad scientific and sociopolitical view of US wetlands. This primer lays out the science and policy considerations to help in navigating this branch of science that is so central to conservation policy, ecosystem science and wetland regulation. It gives explanations of the attributes, functions and values of our wetlands and shows how and why public attitudes toward wetlands have changed, and the political, legal, and social conflicts that have developed from legislation intended to stem the rapid losses of wetlands. The book describes the role of wetland science in facilitating the evolution of a rational and defensible system for regulating wetlands and will shed light on many of the problems and possibilities facing those who quest to protect and conserve our wetlands. (view table of contents)

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