United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water (WH-556F),
Office of Wetlands, Oceans,
and Watersheds (A-104 F)
EPA843-F-93-001dd
March 1993
EPA REGION VII IRC,,
069174
WETLANDS FACT SHEET #30
Partnerships with Landowners
All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the
individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. His
instincts prompt him to compete for his place in the communityf but his
ethics prompt him also to co-operate (perhaps in order that there may
be a place to compete for). The land ethic simply enlarges the bound-
aries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, animals, or
collectively, the land.
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
There is a real and increasingly popular
opportunity to strengthen wetlands protection
by fostering innovative public/private partner-
snips and promoting landowner participation
in voluntary wetlands stewardship programs.
These programs address individual and
community economic and quality of life issues.
Wetlands conservation has positive, long term
impacts on the environment commerce, and
quality of life. In contrast, continued wetland
loss has negative impacts on water quality,
biodiversity, the economy, and human health
and safety.
Ownership of Wetlands in US
25%
75%
USFW&MM
Approximately 75% of the remaining
wetlands in the lower 48 States are privately
owned. Recently, much of the national focus on nate programs that assist private landowners in
wetlands protection has been on regulatory pro- conserving and managing wetlands nationwide.
grams. However, regulatory programs only
provide partial protection. In contrast, there are
numerous voluntary programs in the public
and private sector that provide educational,
technical, and financial assistance to private
landowners.
Private landowner assistance and part-
nership programs among government, non-
profit and private interest groups are areas of
growing national interest. The potential for
voluntary programs to protect wetland resources
is being recognized by Federal, State, and local
governments. EPA has actively promoted land-
owner assistance and partnership programs
through activities such as American Wetlands
Month, Audubon's America, the EPA Wetlands
Hotline*, and a multiagency pilot project pro-
moting voluntary wetlands programs in the
State of Maryland.
Other States and regions have indicated
a strong interest in initiating a program similar
to the Maryland program, including EPA Re
gion VI, and the States of Arizona and Oregon.
EPA is also participating in the initiation of an
interagency wetlands marketing initiative by
the USD A Soil Conservation Service. EPA is
developing a strategy to publicize and coordi-
FOR MORE INFORMATION: • Private Landowner's Wetlands Assistance Guide: Volun-
tary Options for Wetlands Stewardship in Maryland available from the EPA Wetlands
Hotline* at 1-800-832-7828
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