Wetland Research

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On February 29, 2012, Wisconsin's Governor Walker signed the Wetland Development Bill into law.

Prior to its passage, the mission and intent behind the permitting process was to ensure landowners either avoided or minimized impacts to wetlands. The new law creates a dual path for wetland permits, developers can either apply for a general permit or individual permit, and are now required to submit a mitigation plan as a part of the wetland permit application. The mitigation plan can vary from buying credits at a mitigation bank, paying the DNR to support the agency's wetland restoration work, or enhancing or restoring wetlands within the surrounding watershed. Opponents of the new law believe the new mitigation plan requirement will depreciate the need for minimizing impacts.

The law also expands the definition of “practicable alternatives” from

means available and capable of being implemented after taking into consideration cost, available technology and logistics in light of overall project purposes.

To the following:

reasonably available and capable of being implemented after taking into consideration cost, site availability, available technology, logistics, and proximity of the proposed project site, in light of the overall purpose and scope of the project.

Making this more contentious are recent studies concluding that created wetland and mitigated sites rarely, if ever, recover their true wetland functionality prior to disruption.

Unsurprising, the bill was passed without the endorsement from a single wetland professional or Wisconsin environmental group, as it was unnecessary. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) they granted permits for 93% of all projects within 22 days from January 1^st through September 30^th, 2011.

Read more:

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/walker-signs-contentious-wetlands-development-bill/article_00a2a118-6326-11e1-b7da-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1oax31hny

National Law Review

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/governor-signs-wetlands-reform-bill-2011-wisconsin-act-118

Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/usatoday/article/38690749?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p\

(http://dnr.wi.gov/waterways/about_us/permit_process.html)

A lot of wetland related news from Wisconsin recently:

From Ramsar:

The United States has designated as its 31^st Ramsar Site the 10,757 acre Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs on the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. A largely undeveloped wetland complex composed of sloughs, bogs, and coastal lagoons that harbor the largest natural wild rice bed on the Great Lakes, the area is under tribal management that is protected as a Conservation Area by an Integrated Resource Management Plan under the jurisdiction of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa.