Community
Involvement in Wetland Protection
WISCONSIN
Background
Wisconsin’s wetlands serve many important
functions, including fish and wildlife habitat,water
quality protection, flood storage, and erosion
control. These functions provide the underpinning
for a vibrant resource-based tourism industry,
support commercial fisheries, and protect
private property values. Wisconsin has lost
more than five million, or approximately half,
of its original wetland base since European
settlement. Wisconsin’s remaining wetlands
are critical to the ecological health of the
state.
The Regulatory Landscape
The basis for wetland regulation is clear:
wetlands provide public benefits and no individual,
business, or governmental agency has the unrestricted
right to alter the natural character of wetlands,
as alterations may pollute the water, increase
flooding, destroy habitat, or cause other
harm.
Federal Laws
Section
10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and
Section 404 of the Clean Water Act provide
the regulatory framework for the federal government’s
role in regulating activities that impact
wetlands. The federal program is administered
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)
with oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). In addition to this wetland
regulatory program, the federal farm programs,
the Endangered Species Act and other sections
of the Clean Water Act (Section 401 – Water
Quality Certification and Section 402 – National
Pollution Discharge Elimination System) can
help protect wetlands.
State
Regulations
NR30 and 31 are Wisconsin’s navigable waters
protection regulations, regulating construction
in and around navigable waters. NR103 and
299 are Wisconsin’s water quality certification
standards, which the Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources uses to approve or deny
permits after the Corps approves them. Wisconsin
Act 6, Wisconsin’s isolated wetland protection
law, authorizes the DNR to administer the
water quality certification program for projects
in those isolated wetlands that are currently
not protected under the Clean Water Act. The
DNR also administers Wisconsin’s wetland mitigation
program.
Photo
credit: Dave Brenner, MI Sea Grant College
Program |
Under Wisconsin’s wetland regulatory program,
a permit is required for grading, filling,
or removing or disturbing soil in a wetland,
although the permitting process is somewhat
streamlined for wetland restoration projects
that follow certain approved methods.
Local Regulations
NR115 and 117, Wisconsin’s shoreland and wetland
zoning regulations, provide minimum wetland
protection requirements for lands within 1,000
feet of the ordinary high water mark of waterways,
and local units of government are required
to adopt and enforce local zoning ordinances.
Wisconsin’s Smart Growth Law requires municipalities
to design land use plans,which can be an important
tool for protecting and restoring wetlands.
Because the vast majority of land-use decisions
are made at the local level, local involvement
in wetland regulation can provide the opportunity
to integrate wetland protection into development
plans early in the process.
What
You Can Do
Federal, state, and local regulations provide
a number of ways in which citizens can participate:
1) Comment on proposed projects in your area
that would affect wetlands;
2) Attend public hearings on individual projects
as well as the development and periodic review
of standards relating to the Clean Water Act
and other regulations;
3) Promote proper wetland stewardship among
private landowners;
4) Participate in wetland management, such
as exotic plant control, on public lands;
5) Help to establish a local wetland protection
ordinance;
6) Promote permanent protection through conservation
easements and purchase;
7) Learn about the importance of wetlands
and how to protect them; and
8) Propose and support sound wetland policy
and oppose destructive policy in the Wisconsin
Legislature and your county and local governments.
Where
to Go for More Information
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association is an education
and advocacy organization that focuses on
protecting and restoring wetlands by working
with landowners, scientists, developers, government,
and other citizens. WWA’s website, http://www.wiscwetlands.org,
features an on-line Wetland Resource Directory,which
can help guide concerned citizens to the right
government employee, consultant, or other
organization to answer their wetland-related
questions. Do not hesitate to call the Wisconsin
Wetlands Association at (608) 250-9971 if
the following resources do not adequately
answer your questions about wetland protection
in Wisconsin.
For information on the federal wetland regulatory
program, contact the St. Paul District of
the Corps at (651) 290-5807 or on the web
at http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/regulatory/.
For more information on the citizens’ role
in enforcing the Clean Water Act, see The
Clean Water Act: An Owner’s Manual and several
other useful publications on the Clean Water
Act by River Network (http://www.rivernetwork.org).
The River Alliance of Wisconsin has published
Using the Clean Water Act to Protect Wisconsin’s
Waters as an addendum to River Network’s publication.
It is available in print or electronic format
at http://www.wisconsinrivers.org.
For information on Wisconsin’s wetland regulatory
program, contact the Department of Natural
Resources at (608) 267-9868 or see the DNR’s
Wisconsin Wetlands website at http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/fhp/wetlands/index.shtml.
You can find more information about shoreland
zoning at http://www.theshorelandconnection.org.
For information on local regulatory programs,
contact the zoning department of your municipality.
Remember, citizens are the essential link
in wetland protection. Get involved now!
For
pdf version, click here.
Prepared
in January 2004 by Wisconsin Wetlands Association
for the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network
and Fund,
a project of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed
Council. Funding provided by U.S. EPA Great
Lakes National Program Office.
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