WETLANDS PRESERVATION VITAL; BUT IMPLEMENTATIO OF A WETLAND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM BEFORE FIELD-BASED RESEARCH CAN VALIDATE THE SYSTEM'S PROPOSED CRITERIA GUARANTEES INCORRECT LABELING AND ADDITIONAL COST

The topic of wetlands and the proposed revisions to the Federal Manual for Delineating Wetlands has raised the issues of environmental concerns and individual property rights. Clearly, the good of society demands wetland preservation; however, recent statements that "agribusiness is seeking to maximize its economic status at the expense of the environment" is, perhaps, unfounded.

Proposed revisions to the Federal Manual for Delineating Wetlands requires: 1) inundation for 15 or more consecutive days or saturation to the surface for at least 21 consecutive days during the growing season, 2) the definition of the growing season, and 3) changes in the types of vegetation used to indicate wetlands.

These revisions are supposed to create easily recognized limits for wetland identification. However, it must be recognized that each is a human attempt to provide yes-no answers to natural systems whose properties gradually change over large acreages. Only field based research in various geographic regions can validate these revisions.

Soils are collections of natural bodies on the earth's surface made of earthy materials, containing living matter and capable of supporting plants out-of-doors. By "natural bodies", soil scientists imply that soils have unique properties that change with depth and include: color, combinations of sand-silt-clay, organic matter, structure, various chemical and mineralogical features and assessments of drainage, temperature and moisture. Since soil properties vary widely, a system of taxonomy (orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships) has evolved.

The present soil classification system, started in 1951 by the USDA, has various hierarchies of classes which permit individual soils to be placed so that relationships are discovered and soil behavior may be predicted. The criteria used to separate one soil from others is based on field descriptions of 10,000 soils and continuing evaluation of the taxonomic system. This essentially American soil taxonomy system has been adopted worldwide, testifying to its solid scientific basis.

When a taxonomic system is in place, it is possible to generate a classification system designed for a specific purpose. A classic example involves this nation's struggle with soil erosion. After a field has been classified as being erosive, conservationists are able to assist growers with cost effective and innovative tillage and crop management technologies. A key feature was the gradual evolution of a classification system designed to accurately predict erosion and the development of technology promoting erosion control and farm profitability. The environmental degradation of land and surface waters because of soil erosion is gradually being reduced. Ultimately, governmental respect for property rights and grower acknowledgement of soil erosion permitted the evolution of solutions.

Soil taxonomy, coupled with a site analysis of the existing vegetation, has been used to create a classification system for identifying wetlands. Unfortunately, the system's criteria has not had sufficient field based research to determine if the criteria accurately predicts "true wetlands," especially when applied over broad geographic areas. More importantly, the classification system has not had sufficient time to evolve so as to be compatible with prevailing economic structures associated with modern agricultural operations. The lack of sufficient "confidence intervals" for the wetland classification system and the insufficient amount of research to promote cost-effective compliance technologies, coupled with the lack of time for growers and scientists to create sustainable farming systems hinders the arrival of quality solutions.

The major detraction of the wetland classification system is not that wetlands are unimportant; indeed, their preservation is vital. However, implementation of a wetland identification system before field based research can validate the system's proposed criteria somewhat guarantees that some land parcels will be incorrectly identified as wetlands. Additionally, the lack of research into alternative technologies to offset undesirable economic effects on growers raises the specter of property rights infringement.

Michael Aide, PhD., is Associate Professor of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University. He specializes in environmental pollution and soils science.