Hello National Aquatic Resourc Survey (NARS) Partners:
EPA is pleased to announce the release of the National Wetland Condition
Assessment 2011 Report. This report is the culmination of a significant
partnership between EPA, states, tribes, and other partners. The NWCA report is
posted at http://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/nwca
along with data used in the assessment.
Key findings from the report include the following:
·
Less than half of wetland area (48%) is in good condition; 32% is
in poor condition and the remaining 20% is in fair condition.
·
Physical disturbances to wetlands and their surrounding habitat
such as compacted soil, ditching, and removal or loss of vegetation, are the
most widespread problems across the country. Wetlands with high levels of
compacted soil are about twice as likely to have poor plant communities.
·
Nonnative plants are a
problem across the country, particularly in the interior plains and west. 46%
of wetland area in the interior plains and 72% of wetland area in the west have
high or very high levels of stress from nonnative plants.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the NWCA from planning
through implementation and finally development of this report. If you
have any questions, please direct them to Gregg Serenbetz (Serenbetz.gregg@epa.gov
202-566-1253) or me.
Sincerely,
Sarah
Sarah Lehmann
202-566-1379