Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds
Coastal Wetlands Conservation Plan
Category: Wetland
Cost: Information not provided.
Description: The Division of Coastal Management (DCM) identified the need
for a Wetlands Conservation Plan in 1992, when it found that the state could not
determine the amount, type, location, functions and loss/gain trends of freshwater
wetlands in the 20 coastal counties.
Unlike saltwater tidal wetlands, or "coastal wetlands," these non-tidal, freshwater
wetlands were not specifically protected under North Carolina law or regulation
(see * below). Yet freshwater wetlands serve important roles in water quality,
floodwater control, and wildlife habitat; and damage to freshwater wetlands can
affect salt waters down stream.
To address these weaknesses, DCM has developed a Wetlands Conservation Plan for
the North Carolina coastal area. The primary purpose of the plan is to provide
detailed wetland information to local, state and federal governments, businesses,
non-profit organizations and the public, so they can make better resource management
decisions.
The Wetlands Conservation Plan has several components:
- a wetlands inventory;
- functional assessment;
- wetland restoration;
- agency coordination;
- coastal area wetland policies; and
- local land use planning.
DCM has completed its' wetlands inventory, using an extensive GIS-based wetlands
mapping program. Using the GIS coverage, DCM can generate paper maps showing
wetland locations and types.
The functional assessment examines the ecological significance of all wetlands.
DCM makes this assessment using a a GIS-based landscape analysis of each wetland
in a watershed. The analysis evaluates the contribution each wetland has to
water quality, hydrology and wildlife habitat, and the risk to the watershed
integrity should a wetland be removed.
Wetland restoration, agency coordination, coastal area wetland policies and
land use planning all are means by which the wetlands maps and functional assessments
will be used to improve wetland protection and management.
Outcome: The results of the functional assessment will provide additional
information about the ecological significance of wetlands in each coastal county.
This information will be help regulatory agencies determine the importance of
protecting a particular wetland site in the event a fill permit is requested.
It will also enable development projects to be planned so as to avoid, at all
reasonable cost, the most ecologically important wetlands.
The Division of Coastal Management has developed a procedure for ranking wetland
restoration sites. This procedure, which uses Geographic Information Systems
(GIS), will help us locate potential restoration sites that replace a wetland's
function in its watershed -- not just acre-for-acre replacement. The procedure
also will help us map and classify existing wetlands and provide information
on how they function.
This exciting procedure is a critical advance for North Carolina, because wetlands
play vital roles in protecting water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and
controlling floodwaters. The statewide wetland restoration program is using
the procedure developed at Coastal Management.
DCM has also been collecting information on wetland restoration and creation
sites. The Wetland Restoration and Creation Site Database includes sites in
the 20 coastal counties of North Carolina. It includes restored and created
wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) or "sea grass beds" constructed
for compensatory mitigation, shoreline stabilization, mitigation banking, and
research.
Contact: Jim Stanfill, NC Wetlands Conservation Planning, NC Division
Of Coastal Management, 1638 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-1638, Phone:
919/733-2293, fax: 919/733-1495, Jim.Stanfill@ncmail.net
Citation: http://dcm2.enr.state.nc.us/Wetlands/wetland_mainpage.htm
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