Since a 2001 US Supreme Court decision that permanently altered the federal protection of non-navigable waters, scientists and policy-makers have struggled to determine whether state agencies are conserving wetlands and which wetlands no longer receive protection. Subsequent court cases have also made protection of non-navigable waters difficult as the regulatory definition of “navigable waters” continues to change. This study compares regulations and the administrative actions of ten states along the Mississippi River corridor to protect and conserve isolated wetlands. It uses GIS methodology to determine differences in wetland area change for a twenty-year period, and compares past and recent wetland destruction and wetland buffer zone loss using nationally established Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) categories. The results show that conservation of the wetlands and buffer zones have only been successful in places where agricultural area or urban sprawl did not statistically increase. The findings indicate that some biological functions and ecological values of federal wetlands have been conserved by a few state agencies and local governments that have clarified the regulations about small, ephemeral, and seasonal wetlands. The study highlights the need for trustworthy data for sensitive or at risk wetlands so that conservation stakeholders have robust evidence for developing appropriate mitigation policies and implementation strategies.

中文翻译：

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密西西比河沿岸的季节性湿地国家保护工作

自从2001年美国最高法院的一项裁决永久改变了对非通航水域的联邦保护以来，科学家和政策制定者一直在努力确定国家机构是否正在保护湿地以及哪些湿地不再获得保护。随后的法院案件也使得对“非航行水域”的保护变得困难，因为“航行水域”的监管定义不断变化。这项研究比较了密西西比河走廊沿线十个州保护和保护偏远湿地的法规和行政行为。它使用GIS方法确定二十年来湿地面积变化的差异，并使用国家确定的土地利用/土地覆被（LULC）分类比较过去和最近的湿地破坏和湿地缓冲区损失。结果表明，湿地和缓冲区的保护仅在农业面积或城市扩张没有统计学上增加的地方才成功。调查结果表明，一些州机构和地方政府已经保护了联邦湿地的某些生物学功能和生态价值，这些机构已经澄清了有关小型，临时和季节性湿地的法规。这项研究强调了敏感或有风险的湿地需要可靠的数据，以便保护利益相关者有强有力的证据来制定适当的缓解政策和实施策略。研究结果表明，一些州机构和地方政府已经保护了联邦湿地的某些生物学功能和生态价值，这些机构已经澄清了有关小型，短暂和季节性湿地的法规。这项研究强调了敏感或有风险的湿地需要可靠的数据，以便保护利益相关者有强有力的证据来制定适当的缓解政策和实施策略。研究结果表明，一些州机构和地方政府已经保护了联邦湿地的某些生物学功能和生态价值，这些机构已经澄清了有关小型，短暂和季节性湿地的法规。这项研究强调了敏感或有风险的湿地需要可靠的数据，以便保护利益相关者有强有力的证据来制定适当的缓解政策和实施策略。