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Letters to the Editor

Dear Estuary,

This spring the Wilson Administration claimed a 112,634-acre, or 24%, increase in California's wetlands since 1993, offering these figures as evidence that the state is ready to take over the federal Section 404 program and assume regulation of wetlands.

ESTUARY readers should be aware that a close look at the numbers reveals that the Administration has grossly overstated the increase of wetlands in the state, as well as the value of its Wetlands Policy. In large part, the exaggerated numbers stem from a rather disingenuous definition of "new" wetlands.

Secretary of Resources Doug Wheeler included three categories of wetlands in his calculations: "restored," "created" and "enhanced." It's reasonable to consider a "restored" wetland "new" if it had previously lost all, or nearly all, of its wetland functions to such impacts as diking, draining or filling. And a "created" wetland should certainly be considered new if it functions successfully (a big "if"). But classifying an "enhanced" wetland as new creates a problem: Enhancement is the improvement of an already existing wetland. An enhanced wetland was a wetland to begin with. Of the new wetland acreage the Administration is claiming, fully 91,400 acres are "enhanced." "Restored" wetlands account for 21,088 acres of the Administration's claim. However, an Audubon Society analysis shows that many of the restoration projects claimed by the Administration are really just enhancements of existing wetlands.

To cite just one example, the approximately 800-acre Baumberg Tract in Hayward is included in the list of restored wetlands. The fact is that these 800 acres are made up of abandoned salt ponds and crystallizers that presently provide productive seasonal wetland habitat to tens of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl, including the threatened western snow plover. The restoration itself is still only in the planning stage. To claim that these acres provide "new" wetland acreage is simply not true.

All told, it seems probable that California's wetlands have increased by at most 4.5% over the past four years, and perhaps as little as 0.5%. The Administration's claims are greatly inflated, and offer no indication whatsoever that the state is ready to assume the task of preserving its few remaining wetlands.

Arthur Feinstein Audubon Society

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