NEWS

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NEWS

• http//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/climate_09_jellyfish_me
  nace
• http//www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/11
  /19/us_liable_in_katrina_flood_judge_says/
• http//www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/11/16
  /in_battle_to_save_hemlocks_hope_rests_on_a_beetle
  /
• http//www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/1
  1/18/carbon_pollution_up_despite_recession/

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Wetlands
Image courtesy of Moni3, Wikipedia
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Wetlands

• Name 3 wetland environments
• What makes them wet?
• What makes them valuable?
• What threatens wetlands?

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Salt Marsh
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
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Vernal Pools
Image courtesy of United States Geological Survey
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MA Wetlands Protection Act

• No person shall remove, fill, dredge or alter any
  bank, riverfront area, fresh water wetland,
  coastal wetland, beach, dune, flat, marsh, meadow
  or swamp bordering on the ocean or on any
  estuary, creek, river, stream, pond, or lake, or
  any land under said waters or any land subject to
  tidal action, coastal storm flowage, or flooding,
  other than in the course of maintaining,
  repairing or replacing, but not substantially
  changing or enlarging, an existing and lawfully
  located structure or facility used in the service
  of the public and used to provide electric, gas,
  water, telephone, telegraph and other
  telecommunication services, without filing
  written notice of his intention to so remove,
  fill, dredge or alter, including such plans as
  may be necessary to describe such proposed
  activity and its effect on the environment and
  without receiving and complying with an order of
  conditions and provided all appeal periods have
  elapsed.

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8 Interests of the Wetlands Protection Act

• Protection of public and private water supply
• Protection of groundwater supply
• Flood control
• Storm damage prevention
• Prevention of pollution
• Protection of land containing shellfish
• Protection of fisheries
• Protection of wildlife habitat

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Solutions Protecting Wet lands
Legally protect existing wetlands
Steer development away from existing wetlands
Use mitigation banking only as a last resort
Require creation and evaluation of a new wetland before destroying an existing wetland
Restore degraded wetlands
Try to prevent and control invasions by nonnative species
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Natural Capital Ecological Services of Rivers
Deliver nutrients to sea to help sustain coastal fisheries
Deposit silt that maintains deltas
Purify water
Renew and re-nourish wetlands
Provide habitats for wildlife
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Salmon
Image courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers
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Solutions Rebuilding Salmon Populations
Building upstream hatcheries
Releasing juvenile salmon from hatcheries to under populated streams
Releasing extra water from dams to wash juvenile salmon downstream
Building fish ladders so adult salmon can bypass dams during upstream migration
Using trucks and barges to transport salmon around dams
Reducing silt runoff from logging roads above salmon spawning streams
Banning dams from some stream areas