Hypoxia occurs nationwide and is present in over half of our major estuaries. The Task Force plan places a great deal of emphasis on voluntary federal restoration programs that we support. Both programs are close to their maximum enrollment, meaning that caps will prevent landowners from participating, said Dr. Alan Wentz, Group Manager of Conservation Programs at Ducks Unlimited. When the Farm Bill is reauthorized in 2002, there will be an opportunity to open up these programs to more participants, and in effect, restore more wetlands. Reauthorization can t come soon enough, said Dr. Wentz.
Wetlands act as natural water filters, absorbing pollutants before they infiltrate waterways.
I am very pleased to see the mobilization behind the hypoxia problem. Discussion of this issue will inevitably focus attention on the role of wetlands as natural water filters. If you look at the dead zone as dirty water, then wetlands are the sponges that will help clean it up, said Dr. Wentz. The scope of wetland protection has recently come under focus in the aftermath of a recent Supreme Court decision curtailing the regulatory power of the Army Corps of Engineers. We have dispatched a team of biologists to study the possible impact of this decision.