Wetlands Program Fact Sheet

The National Park Service manages more than 16 million acres of wetlands, and is therefore a key participant in the preservation, restoration, and management of wetland habitats across the United States. Common types of wetlands include swamps, bogs, marshes, mudflats, shallow ponds, wet meadows, and similar areas. These highly productive, biologically diverse systems provide fish and wildlife habitat, erosion control, stream flow maintenance, water quality enhancement, recreational opportunities, and many other important functions. They are also known to harbor at least 35% of the federally listed threatened and endangered plant and animal species. However, wetlands are a threatened resource; fewer than half of the wetlands that existed in the lower 48 states at the time of European settlement still remain. Although many wetlands in National Park System units are in essentially pristine condition, others have been damaged by drainage, pollution, diking, filling, and related activities. In 1991, the National Park Service initiated a Servicewide program designed to enhance its wetland protection, restoration, inventory, applied research, and education efforts. This program is implemented via project funding and technical assistance from the Service's Water Resources Division. Wetland inventories are critical for resource management and facility planning in all National Park System units, yet some units continue to operate without them. To speed the acquisition of basic information about the locations and types of wetlands in its care, the National Park Service has joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a 50:50 cost sharing agreement to produce National Wetland Inventory maps for the National Park System. During 1991-1999, the Water Resources Division provided more than $680,000 (including matching money from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) for wetland inventories at Acadia National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Glacier National Park, Great Basin National Park, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, and several other NPS units. In addition to the inventories by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $300,000 was spent during 1991-1999 for higher resolution inventories tailored to specific needs of several NPS units, including Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, North Cascades National Park, and Sequoia National Park. Restoration and Protection of Wetlands The National Park Service mandates the protection of wetlands from degradation and the restoration of natural wetland functions and values where they have been disturbed by human activities. During 1991-1999, the Water Resources Division wetlands program provided $1,040,000 for wetland restoration and protection projects. Several smaller wetlands were restored and seed money was provided for larger restoration projects at Cape Cod National Seashore, Denali National Park and Preserve, Pecos National Historical Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and other NPS units. Technical Assistance

The Water Resources Division places a high priority on providing technical assistance on wetland issues to units of the National Park System. Assistance includes wetland restoration design and implementation, impact assessments, protection strategies, evaluations of wetland functions, and regulatory analyses. Some specific examples of technical assistance include analysis of wetland impacts at Cape Lookout National Seashore, resolution of a Clean Water Act (Section 404) violation at John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, quantification of drainage effects of a proposed housing development on wetlands at Gulf Islands National Seashore, and wetland restorations at Pecos National Historical Park, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway, and Moores Creek National Battlefield.