Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States Susan-Marie...
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Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA Fisheries Service Tom Dahl, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA Fisheries Service Tom Dahl, US Fish and
Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the
Eastern United States Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA Fisheries Service
Tom Dahl, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Slide 2
Some Background. National Wetlands Trends (US FWS) Time
Periodacres/year net change 1955-1975-458,000 1973-1983-290,000
1986-1997 -58,550 ------------ No net loss 1998-2004 +32,000
Slide 3
Coastal Wetlands Trends Gosselink and Bauman, 1980 (mostly
tidal wetlands) 1922-1954: 19,000 ac/yr loss 1954-1974: 46,000
ac/yr loss Brady and Flather, 1994 (mostly tidal wetlands)
1982-1987: 19,000 ac/yr loss Brady and Goebel, 2002 (wetlands in
coastal counties) 1992-1997: 32,600 ac/yr loss
Slide 4
Coastal Wetlands are Important as: Habitat for commercial and
recreational fish 98% of Chesapeake Bay commercial landings and 97%
in the Gulf of Mexico are estuarine- dependent Habitat for
waterfowl majority of black ducks winter on Atlantic coast majority
of gadwalls winter along Gulf Coast Protection from coastal storms
and floods - $23B/yr Recreation And more
Slide 5
Defining Coastal
Slide 6
Coastal Wetlands are. Salt marshes Brackish marshes Fresh tidal
marshes Fresh tidal scrub/scrub Tidal riverine As well as.
Non-tidal fresh wetlands
Slide 7
National data points vs. Coastal data points Total coastal
drainage area: 212.6 million acres Data segmented by coastline
Great Lks., Atlantic, Gulf Sample plots: 2,265 (48 % of national
total) Field verification plots: 824 (36%)
Slide 8
Coastal Wetlands Status 2004
Slide 9
Coastal Wetlands Trends 1998-2004 (including Great Lakes)
Average annual net loss of 60,000 acres per year Freshwater
wetlands experienced 82% of that loss About 70% of the loss was due
to development The Gulf of Mexico experienced the majority of the
wetland loss
Slide 10
Slide 11
Gains and Losses by Coastal Region
Slide 12
Attribution of fresh water wetland losses: Atlantic, Gulf of
Mexico, and Great Lakes Urban & Rural Development 22.4%
Intertidal Wetlands, 0.05% Deepwater, 14.5% Other Development
Activities, 59.4% Agriculture, 3.6%
Slide 13
Gulf Coast Wetland Change Regions
Slide 14
Coastal development
Slide 15
Slide 16
Attribution of saltwater wetland losses Atlantic and Gulf
Coasts
Slide 17
Atlantic Coast Inundation Regions
Slide 18
Slide 19
Focus on Coastal Areas Coastal watersheds of the eastern
coterminous US: Have 12% of the land area Have 38% of the wetlands
Have >50% of the people Support about 70% of the fish landings
Experienced approximately the same average annual net wetland loss
from 1998-2004 as the entire coterminous US from 1986-1997
Slide 20
Conclusions: Although wetland loss has reversed on a national
basis, it continues at an alarming rate in coastal areas. Coastal
areas need greater efforts to reverse the trend of continuing
wetland loss.
Slide 21
What next? Can we increase coastal wetland conservation through
existing programs? Do we need new programs focused on coastal
wetlands? How can we quantify coastal wetland trends on the Pacific
coasts?