United StatM Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water (WH-556F). Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds (A-104 F) EPA843-F-93-001aa March 1993 wEPA WETLANDS FACT SHEET #27 What is a State Wetland Conservation Plan? A new tool that States are using to pro- tect wetlands is the State Wetland Conservation Plan (SWCP). A State Wetland Conservation Plan is not meant to create a new level of bureau- cracy. Instead, it improves government and private sector effectiveness and efficiency by identifying gaps in wetland protection programs and finding opportunities to make wetlands programs workmen better. SWCP's are strategies for States to achieve no net loss and other wetland management goats by integrating both regulatory and cooperative approaches to protecting wetlands. Advantages A large number of land and water-based activities impact wetlands. These activities are not addressed by any single Federal, State or local agency program. While many public and private programs and activities protect wet- lands, these programs are often limited in scope and not well coordinated. Neither do these programs address all of the problems affecting wetlands. States are well positioned between Fed- eral and local government to take the lead in integrating and expanding wetland protection and management programs. They are experi- enced in managing Federally mandated envi- ronmental programs under the Clean Water Act and the Coastal Zone Management Act. They are uniquely equipped to help resolve local and regional conflicts and identify the local eco- nomic and geographic factors that may influ- ence wetlands protection. What arp Static VVIiai are States Currently, nineteen States are at various stages of developing an SWCP and have re- ceived financial assistance from EPA. • Michigan's SWCP will focus primarily on non-regulatory aspects of wetlands manage- ment to complement their regulatory programs. Initiatives will be developed for wetland water quality, reclamation of valuable wetland func- tions, coordination of existing wetland protec- tion and management efforts, and wetland edu- cation and outreach. • California plans through its SWCP to inven- tory its wetlands, identify crucial wetlands, de- velop a statewide strategy to plan wetlands protection and restoration, and take a crucial role in overall wetland regulation. • New York will work towards a "no net loss/ net gain" goal under its SWCP. Because one purpose of an SWCP is to integrate wetlands protection into other programs, wetland issues and references to the SWCP have been inte- grated into several State programs. Other States working on SWCFs include: MO, TN, DE, N], ND, OH, OK, OR, TX, AL, AR, IL, MT,NE,VT,WA, FOR MORE INFORMATION: • Seethe Statewide Wetlands Strategies guidebook, which te available from Island Press (1-800-828-1302). • Call the EPA Wetlands Hotline* at 1-800-832-7828. • Askfor copies of theSWCP brochure "Why Develop a State Wettand Conservation Plan?" from the hotline*. ------- |