North Carolina's Wetlands Restoration Program

Creator

Goode, Ann Eberhart
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning

Abstract

When the history of North Carolina's efforts to protect its water quality is written, one bright spot may be its wetland restoration efforts, and 1996 will stand out as a significant turning point. In July, the legislature enacted the Wetlands Restoration Program (WRP) (NCGS §143-214.8 - §143-214.13), a statewide effort to coordinate wetlands restoration efforts and mitigation projects' in order to make them as efficient and ecologically sound as possible. First, the WRP will identify degraded wetland areas, the restoration of which would improve water quality, wildlife habitats, flood control, or the health of fisheries. The WRP will then seek to concentrate public and private resources now spent on disconnected, scattered mitigation efforts on the identified sites, restoring the most ecologically significant areas in each of North Carolina's 17 major river basins. This program has a great deal of potential for improving the quantity and quality of North Carolina's wetlands and their valuable functions. However, in the coming year, wetlands managers will have to make numerous decisions that will determine the fate of the WRP and whether it becomes a missed opportunity or a national example of a successful wetlands management program.

Date of publication

DOI

Resource type

Rights statement

Journal title

Journal volume

Journal issue

Page start

Page end

Language

Digital collection

Relations

Parents:

In Collection:

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	19wetlandsrestoration.pdf	2019-04-23	Public	Download