A Bi-Weekly Publication Friday January 14, 2005

In This Issue: Oppose Destructive Mitigation Policy Guidance World Wetlands Day Coming Soon MWAC Advisory Board Outlines 2005 Priorities Good News for U.P. Wetlands OPPOSE DESTRUCTIVE MITIGATION POLICY GUIDANCE The U.S. EPA, Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies will make a fundamental and disturbing change in the way developers mitigate their impacts to wetlands, as outlined in a guidance document due to be released any day. The "Federal Guidance on the Use of Off-Site and Out-of-Kind Compensatory Mitigation Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act," will effectively eliminate a preference for constructing mitigation wetlands as close as possible to those they are designed to replace and for restoring the same type of wetland as was destroyed. The guidance creates an 'anything goes' approach to compensatory mitigation decisions that abandons the goal of improving wetlands compensation. The National Academy of Sciences 2001 evaluation of the Clean Water Act mitigation program recommended major reform, and placed emphasis on maximizing avoidance of wetland impacts and on the development of holistic watershed planning to guide compensatory mitigation siting and type decisions. The Site-Kind Guidance that the agencies are poised to release violates those principles and would derail the reform agenda that the agencies have been pursuing through the development of a Mitigation Action Plan. The requirement for wetlands compensatory mitigation to be in-kind and at or as near the impact site as possible should apply unless a holistic watershed plan is available to provide science-based justification for alternative siting or type. In Michigan, this policy guidance would likely affect mitigation decisions made by the Army Corps of Engineers on wetlands under their jurisdiction (those adjacent to federally navigable waters such as the Great Lakes). Because some of our state's most valuable wetlands are found adjacent to federally navigable waters, a policy guidance which would allow developers to mitigate for coastal wetland loss with a different (likely less ecologically valuable) type of wetland in a different location is troubling. The federal agencies responsible for this flawed policy guidance are also charged with helping to develop a Great Lakes restoration plan through the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. Despite their important work in that realm, this "off-site, out-of-kind" mitigation policy is decidedly anti-restoration. You can read more about this destructive mitigation policy guidance here. Voice your opposition by sending an email to: Ben Grumbles, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation WORLD WETLANDS DAY COMING SOON February 2^nd marks the 9^th annual celebration of World Wetlands Day. The day celebrates the signing of the Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. World Wetlands Day presents a great opportunity to raise public awareness of wetland functions and values. MWAC is planning to celebrate World Wetlands Day by sending a special message to our state legislators. We encourage you to find a creative way to celebrate World Wetlands Day in your community. Learn more about World Wetlands Day MWAC ADVISORY BOARD OUTLINES 2005 PRIORITIES The Advisory Board of MWAC recently met via conference call to discuss priorities for 2005. After a productive discussion, the Board settled on the following priorities: Continue fighting to protect Michigan's coastal wetlands Seek funding to conduct a media campaign to promote the public benefits that wetlands provide Build support for legislative changes necessary to maintain State assumption of the federal wetlands permitting program Grow our network of wetland advocates	Good News for U.P. Wetlands Historic land deal and NAWCA grant add up to protected wetlands Governor Granholm and The Nature Conservancy recently announced that a legally binding purchase and sale agreement had been reached with The Forestland Group, LLC, to protect more than 271,000 acres through a working forest easement on 248,000 acres and acquisition of 23,338 acres in the Upper Peninsula. The agreement is considered the largest conservation project in the state's history, and includes more than 52,000 acres of wetlands. --- In addition to the above wonderful news, the Little Traverse Conservancy has been awarded a North American Waterfowl Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant to the tune of $850,000. The money will be used to protect migratory bird habitat along the St. Mary's River. Visit the Little Traverse Conservancy's website to learn more about this great project.
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council 426 Bay Street , Petoskey, Michigan 49770 Phone: (231) 347-1181 x 118 Fax: (231) 347-5928 Email: chrisgrubb@watershedcouncil.org Web: http://www.michiganwetlands.org