Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA Fisheries Service Tom Dahl, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Some Background…. National Wetlands Trends (US FWS) Time Periodacres/year net change , , , “No net loss” ,000

“Coastal” Wetlands Trends Gosselink and Bauman, 1980 (mostly tidal wetlands) : 19,000 ac/yr loss : 46,000 ac/yr loss Brady and Flather, 1994 (mostly tidal wetlands) : 19,000 ac/yr loss Brady and Goebel, 2002 (wetlands in coastal counties) : 32,600 ac/yr loss

Coastal Wetlands are Important as: Habitat for commercial and recreational fish 98% of Chesapeake Bay commercial landings and 97% in the Gulf of Mexico are estuarine- dependent Habitat for waterfowl majority of black ducks winter on Atlantic coast majority of gadwalls winter along Gulf Coast Protection from coastal storms and floods - $23B/yr Recreation And more………

Defining “Coastal”

Coastal Wetlands are…. Salt marshes Brackish marshes Fresh tidal marshes Fresh tidal scrub/scrub Tidal riverine As well as…. Non-tidal fresh wetlands

National data points vs. Coastal data points Total coastal drainage area: million acres Data segmented by coastline – Great Lks., Atlantic, Gulf Sample plots: 2,265 (48 % of national total) Field verification plots: 824 (36%)

Coastal Wetlands Status 2004

Coastal Wetlands Trends (including Great Lakes) Average annual net loss of 60,000 acres per year Freshwater wetlands experienced 82% of that loss About 70% of the loss was due to development The Gulf of Mexico experienced the majority of the wetland loss

Gains and Losses by Coastal Region

Attribution of fresh water wetland losses: Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes Urban & Rural Development 22.4% Intertidal Wetlands, 0.05% Deepwater, 14.5% Other Development Activities, 59.4% Agriculture, 3.6%

Gulf Coast – Wetland Change Regions

Coastal development

Attribution of saltwater wetland losses – Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

Atlantic Coast Inundation Regions

Focus on Coastal Areas Coastal watersheds of the eastern coterminous US: Have 12% of the land area Have 38% of the wetlands Have >50% of the people Support about 70% of the fish landings Experienced approximately the same average annual net wetland loss from as the entire coterminous US from

Conclusions: Although wetland loss has reversed on a national basis, it continues at an alarming rate in coastal areas. Coastal areas need greater efforts to reverse the trend of continuing wetland loss.

What next? Can we increase coastal wetland conservation through existing programs? Do we need new programs focused on coastal wetlands? How can we quantify coastal wetland trends on the Pacific coasts?

Questions?