Ben Graeff

 Individual state losses range from 9% to 91%. The continental United States was once home to over 215 million acres of wetland habitat, now this number is 100 million.  There are 38 different types of waterfowl that use wetlands across North America.  Wetlands vary largely because of difference in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, like human disturbance. They are found on every continent but Antarctica.  Bogs, Marshes, and Swamps are all considered wetlands and these habitats are home to over 800 animal species. These ecosystems are similar to rainforests in their capacity to support life.

 Wetlands are sponges. From the raging Mississippi to the Chesapeake Bay wetlands act as basins that collect water and act as natural flood barriers to cities that depend on these water ways. Undisturbed wetlands can store up to 60 days of flood water.  Because these basins slow the flow of water, the sediments and pollutants that are suspended in river water are either filtered by aquatic plants or settle to the bottom and are broken down by micro-organisms. This filter system leads to significant increases in ground water quality.  Wetlands also help to decrease the carbon levels in the atmosphere.  A final benefit of wetlands is there natural beauty and the recreation services that they provide to millions of outdoor enthusiasts.

 Tragedy of the Commons  Two suburban housing developers in the Missouri Confluence Floodplain, which contains 14,000 acres of development ready wetlands have equal budgets, development materials, and man hours.  The scenario plays out and the developers end up developing all the land in the commons without the proper mitigation processes.

S a is the average value of a one acre residential lot in the Midwest α a is acreage developed M m a is the mitigation value that corresponds with wetland quality and watershed restrictions w a is the Woodward economic value. This value is the loss from mitigation and wetland relocation. d a is the aesthetic degradation variable The aesthetic degradation variable is a modified version of the s A parameter from Hugh Ward ’ s paper Game Theory and the Politics of Global Commons. This parameter reflected the “ extent to which environmental harm due to economic growth in [country] B spills over to A. ” This paper adapts this parameter into the aesthetic degradation variable: the extent to which degradation of aesthetic appeal is increased due to developmental growth (Ward). f a is avg. farm acreage r a is net return per acre for corn and soybeans.

 The inequality that is generated defines the deadlock game, t > p > r > s.  The model has some flaws that must be discussed. It was very difficult to calculate a variable for the land owner’s concern for the environment. The variable for the risk factor of destroying wetlands was another tricky variable as it was hard to find any empirical data that could evaluate the importance of flood protection  One variable that will be used in the Revised paper is the carbon sequestration variable, accounting for the wetlands ability to process CO 2  All of these variables would enter the payoff function and most likely increase the incentives for conservation, but even so, there great disparity in payoffs shows that policies must be created to help further incentives for the protection of wetlands.

 Have you ever been to a wetland?  If so what activities did you partake in and do you think it conservation is important?  Should government be responsible for providing incentives for land owners to participate in conservation easements?  Do you have any suggestions for any of variables that could not be represented in the payoff function?