EC 231 Policy Memorandum

7/31/2019 EC 231 Policy Memorandum

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Dear President Obama,

Wetlands are among the most productive habitats on earth; however, over

half of the wetlands in the lower 48 states have been lost to development and

agriculture. They perform a variety of functions that benefit the pubic such as water

purification, flood prevention, sea level rise buffers, recreational opportunities, and serve

as important plant, fish, and wildlife habitats. The main problem is that about 82 percent

(92 million acres) of wetlands are privately owned.1 While Section 404 of the Clean

Water Act is slowing decelerating the destruction rate, the benefits of wetlands to society

are astronomical and supplementary action must be taken immediately.

Wetland conversion and degradation generates negative externalities for the

public that are not deducted from the marginal benefit to wetland owners. The

owner of a wetland does not take into account that preservation may reduce flooding on

downstream properties. As a result, there is no incentive for private owners to conserve,

and it is more profitable to convert the land for agriculture use and urban development.

This may be costly for society as a whole, but the marginal cost for private landowners

does not take into account the marginal social costs. As President, you have a

responsibility to balance the landowners interests in converting land for economic profit,

and the publics interest in preventing current destruction and demanding a future

increase in the wetland resource base.

In order to approach the destruction of wetlands there needs to be a shift in

the private incentives for conservation. Currently, the only benefits of wetland

conservation for owners include private scenery, hunting and fishing, recreational

1Wetlands and Agriculture: Private Interest and Public Benefits. Economic Research Service/USDA.Http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer765/aer765b.pdf


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opportunities, and economic returns from haying, grazing or timber harvesting. There

needs to be efforts by the federal government to enhance the returns that private

landowners receive from wetland protection and conservation. These incentives need to

be greater than the landowners opportunity cost of converting the land or else the

individual landowners will most likely keep converting the land for alternative uses.

Currently the federal government protects wetlands through Sector 404 of

the Clean Water Act, but not all methods of wetland destruction are covered in the

legislation. Unregulated methods include: wetland drainage, the lowering of ground-

water levels in areas adjacent to wetlands, permanent flooding of existing wetlands, and

deposition of material that is not specifically defined as dredged and fill materials by the

Clean Water Act.2 While state authority over the Federal Section 404 program is a goal

of the Clean Water Act, few states have chosen to embrace the program because there are

limited Federal resources available to assist them.

Regional wetland conservation plans that give states the framework to

protect, restore, and create wetlands are essential for the sustainability of wetlands,

but they need improved funding from the federal government. States such as Maine

have already implemented state-level plans, but there is not enough funding to either buy

the land from private owners or provide them with economic incentives to conserve the

wetlands. Maines remaining wetlands have an estimated economic value of $31 billion,

so they understand how vital this ecosystem is to their state.3

Therefore, funds are needed

to provide economic incentives for private landowners to conserve their land. If

2Votteler, Todd. National Water Summary on Wetland Resources. United States Geological Survey.Http://water.usgs.gov/nwsum/WSP2425/legislation.html

3Winter, Lois. Protecting Maines Wetlands: Linking Maines Past with its Future. National WetlandsNewsletter. Vol. 29, No. 6. 2007.


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landowners could be compensated more substantially then the potential for long-term

wetland sustainability would rise.

Another economic incentive is to give landowners tax deductions for selling

or donating wetlands to a qualified organization that works to protect the land.

Since individual landowners own most of the wetlands, they have in a key position to

determine the fate of wetlands on their properties. Economic incentives and disincentives

are the best policy solutions to decelerating the conversion rate of wetland in the United

States.

While focusing on private landowners is important, public education on the

values of standing wetlands can also result in conservation. If the public does not

recognize the benefits of wetland preservation then there will be no support for

conservation policy. The only way protection can be secured is through the cooperation

efforts of citizens. Changes in public awareness would fundamentally increase public

pressure on landowners to conserve their land because there would be decreased demand

for alternative uses such as urban development.

Since there are significant public benefits for protecting wetlands, the use of

eminent domain may needed as a last resort to stop the destruction of this

ecosystem. The government has the right to take property for public use as long as the

landowner is properly compensated. The use of this right would be the most effective in

protecting wetlands, but it is not very cost effective. The federal government would have

to dramatically increase their budget for wetland conservation in order to ensure their

protection. With a greater understanding that the long-term benefits of conservation are


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more then worth the present costs of compensation, then the safety of our countrys

wetlands can be achieved.

The federal government must choose to delegate funds to compensating

private landowners, educating the general public or choose to implement economic

incentive policy to slow the wetland destruction rate because no federal action will

result in the lose of a key ecosystem that provides countless benefits to the public.

Instead of relying on individual states to preserve the longevity of this ecosystem, the

federal government has a responsibility to take more extensive action. Educating the

public may be the cheapest approach, but prices should not be the driving factor when

there are so many benefits to wetland preservation.

Sincerely,

EC 231 Policy Memorandum

Documents

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