Wisconsin Wetlands in Danger

Dana Christel

The well-being of Wisconsin’s wetlands is in danger as of late.  The state Senate is to vote on a proposed wetland bill this week that would weaken the laws that shield wetlands from development and instead make it considerably easier to develop and build on sites that have wetlands.  The regulation currently in place enforces businesses to first avoid the development of wetlands, then to minimize the damage that is being done, and then lastly the action of mitigating. Mitigation more often than not does not provide the magnitude of benefits compared to the natural wetland being built on.  This new scheme allows developers to skip the first heavily enforced step of considering alternative sites to build on and instead go straight to offering a mitigation plan to the Department of Natural Resources.  Again, mitigation is not the same as a natural wetland. It’s very difficult for one to simply “build” a wetland.  Wetlands have complex hydrology, hydric soils that take a long time to form and vegetation that survive in only certain conditions.  Natural wetlands are mainly self- regulating and the ecological benefits that they provide are processes that have developed over the course of hundreds of years. Constructed wetlands however need to be monitored to evaluate the functions gained and lost. Sometimes a wetland that has been engineered requires ongoing maintenance and has a set lifespan, contrasting with a natural self-sustaining system.

Wetlands provide numerous benefits to us. They are very important for ecological regulation. They play a fundamental part in climate, gas, and water regulation. Acting as carbon sinks, purification of water, and assistance in shoreline erosion control are among the other function wetlands serve. Wetlands are excellent at trapping pollutants and sediment, acting as a filtration system to clean groundwater. Wetlands are also characteristic of acting like sponges and therefore can serve as a barrier along shorelines. They have the ability to absorb a tremendous amount of energy from wind and water. For example, many people say that the effect that Hurricane Katrina had on the city of New Orleans wouldn’t have been quite as tragic had the natural wetlands along the Gulf Coast not been destroyed and developed upon years ago.  Wetlands also trap sediments and pollutants and filter them out of water, preventing them from getting into ground water.  Not only are they extremely important ecologically but they also serve us economically and aesthetically. 

I personally do not support this bill. If this bill goes through, I think that it will be extremely detrimental to the state of Wisconsin’s wetland resources.  We’ve already lost around five million acres of wetlands, and the passing of this bill will only facilitate that loss more. Recommendations have been made towards the bill that would ‘soften the blow’ of this proposed bill, however it seems the state legislature is unwilling to budge.  If this bill goes through, the wetlands of Wisconsin will no longer receive adequate protection and we will no longer be a model for other states to look up to in terms of our states’ wetland protection.

Works Cited:

JS Online. 2012. Wetlands bill streamlines DNR procedures. [Online]. Available at http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/wetlands-bill-streamlines-dnr-procedures-jr3mls0-136887823.html (accessed 10 February 2012)

Leader Telegram. Knight life: state bill would weaken wetland rules. [Online]. Available at http://www.leadertelegram.com/features/getting_out/article_fc6d0560-48aa-11e1-b5c7-0019bb2963f4.html (accessed 10 February 2012)