Additional Federal Government Links
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA Community-Based Environmental Protection.
EPA’s Office of Sustainable Ecosystems and Communities aims to foster
the implementation of integrated geographic approaches to environmental
protection with an emphasis on ecological integrity, economic sustainability
and quality of life, and community-based environmental protection (CBEP).
The site also describes case studies of CBEP projects. This site provides
a wealth of information useful in getting a CBEP off the ground.
EPA Community-Based Environmental Protection News On-Line (CNO).
This web site is a periodic electronic information bulletin from EPA’s Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation.
It includes information on outstanding community-based projects, links to other environmental protection resources,
conferences, and publications. This site is a good source of encouraging information about communities
working together for environmental protection.
EPA Green Landscaping with Native Plants.
This EPA web site explains how to landscape with native wildflowers, wetland
plants, and grasses to improve the environment. Although targeted
for the Great Lake States, this web site would be useful for anyone interested
in incorporating native plants into a landscape.
EPA National Estuary Program. The
National Estuary Program was established by amendments to the Clean Water
Act to identify, restore, and protect nationally significant estuaries
of the United States. The site lists estuaries throughout the United States
involved in the program. Many of the estuaries are struggling with methods
to slow wetland loss and restore wetlands on their project sites. This
site provides links to national estuaries and shares wetland restoration
success stories achieved by program participants.
EPA Nonpoint Source Pollution Program.
The Nonpoint Source Pollution Program was established under section 319
of the Clean Water Act. Under section 319, State, Territories, and Indian
Tribes receive grant money which support a wide variety of activities
to prevent nonpoint source pollution. Funded activities can include wetland
creation and restoration and streambank restoration projects. This
site would be useful for anyone seeking technical assistance and funding
for restoration projects or wishing to learn more about past restoration
projects.
EPA Watershed Academy.
EPA offers several watershed-related online training classes through the
Watershed Academy. Classes on wetland function and values as well as streambank
restoration are available. This site is useful to anyone wishing to
take classes to learn more about wetland restoration.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Coastal Services Center. Projects undertaken
by the Coastal Services Center focus on helping coastal managers integrate
the physical, ecological, economic, and social components of habitat protection
and management. Current projects include spatial wetland assessment, submerged
aquatic vegetation development and uses, and habitat mapping. This
information would be useful for anyone wishing to gain more information
about coastal wetlands and the factors that are currently affecting them.
NOAA Coastal Services Center
Habitat Characterizations. This web site provides studies and research
done in the areas of benthic mapping, environmental characterizations,
land cover analysis, habitat restorations, and harmful algal blooms. This
site provides useful information on assessing the relative importance
of wetlands within a watershed, mapping submerged aquatic vegetation,
and land cover mapping.
NOAA Damage Assessment and Restoration Program.
NOAA’s Damage Assessment and Restoration Program (DARP) conducts natural
resource damage assessments and restoration of coastal and marine resources
injured as a result of oil spills, releases of hazardous materials and
ship groundings. This web site contains information on relevant legislation
as well as updates on current restoration projects.
NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve
System. The Estuarine Research Reserve System protects and studies
estuarine areas through a network of 25 reserves. This web site contains
information on the importance of estuaries, national programs at the research
reserves, reserves in various state, and critical issues, such as polluted
runoff, restoration science, invasive species, and environmental stewardship.
Provides current research on estuaries as well as links to training
opportunities sponsored by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.
NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource
Management. This office is responsible for administering the Coastal
Zone Management Act and has expertise on the Nation’s coastal, estuarine,
and ocean management issues. Information about current events, publications,
the Coastal Zone Management Act, and major issues facing coastal managers
is available through this site. This web site provides information
for coastal resource managers, planners, educators, scientists, and others
interested in balancing conservation and development along our nation’s
coast.
NOAA Restoration Center.
The Restoration Center has three main objectives: to restore degraded
coastal and estuarine habitats; to advance the science underlying coastal
habitat restoration and developing improved technology for archiving successful
restoration; and to transfer restoration technology to the private sector,
the public, and governmental agencies at the federal, state, and local
levels. This site provides a variety of funding and information resources
to anyone involved in coastal restoration projects.
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National Park Service
NPS Water Resources Division. The Division’s
mission is to preserve and protect National Park Service water resources
and water-dependent environments. This mission is accomplished through
a watershed management program based on needs at the park, cluster, region,
and national levels. This web site also describes the efforts the National
Park Service is taking to protect and restore wetlands on its land. This
site would be useful for anyone wishing to know more about what the National
Park Service is doing to protect water resources and wetlands.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USACE Environmental Laboratory
Wetlands. Information is available on three Corps of Engineers wetland
programs: USACE Wetlands Research Program, Wetlands Research Technology
Center, and Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program. Current technical
reports, techniques for restoring wetlands, and wetland-related training
provided by the Corps of Engineers are also available. This site provides
current technical information and training for individuals seeking specific
technical wetlands information.
USACE Ecosystem Management
and Restoration Research Program. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
conducts research on restoration and enhancement of aquatic habitats,
restoration and management of stream and riparian ecosystems, and other
restoration-related topics. Descriptions of the research are available
on this site. This site would be useful for gaining information on
technical restoration-related topics.
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA NRCS Backyard Conservation.
This campaign is a project of the National Association of Conservation
Districts, the Wildlife Habitat Council, and USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service. It shows homeowners how the conservation practices
used on agricultural land across the country to conserve and improve natural
resources can be adapted for use on the land around a home. The web
site provides tips sheets on how to create a backyard pond or wetland,
composting, mulching, nutrient management, pest management, terracing,
tree planting, water conservation, and wildlife habitat.
USDA NRCS Conservation Reserve
Program. Under this program, a farmer agrees to set aside land for
conservation purposes for between 10 and 15 years, and in return receives
annual rental payments based on the agriculture rental value of the land,
and cost-share assistance for up to 50 percent of the participant’s costs
in establishing approved conservation practices. This site provides
information on how technical and cost share assistance can be obtained
for restoration projects.
USDA NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the Wetlands Reserve
Program, a voluntary program to restore and protect wetlands on private
property. This web site provides fact sheets, questions and answers, success
stories, and contact information for the program. This site provides
information on how to get involved in the Wetlands Reserve Program and
offers a wide variety of other wetland-related resources.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USFWS National Wetlands Inventory Center. This
site contains information on naturally occurring plants in North American
wetlands. Many software programs are available for download, including
Instream Flow Incremental Methodology, Habitat Evaluation Procedures,
and Habitat Suitability Index Models. The site would be useful for
any person seeking technical information and statistics regarding wetlands
and their reconstruction.
USFWS North American Wetlands
Conservation Act. This Act encourages partnerships to conserve North
American wetland ecosystems for waterfowl, other migratory birds, fish,
and wildlife. This site provides information on the grant program established
to fund conservation programs. It contains information on approved projects
as well as information obtaining grant funds. This site is a good
resource for wetland restoration grant funding opportunities.
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U.S. Geologic Survey
USGS Gulf of Mexico Integrated Science. The
USGS Biological Research Division, Water Resources Division, National
Mapping Division, and National Wetlands Research Center will partner with
other state and federal agencies and universities to develop an integrated
science strategy for assessing and monitoring Gulf of Mexico estuaries.
This site will be useful for individuals seeking technical water quality
monitoring procedures.
USGS Midwestern
Wetland Flora: Guide to Plant Species. This list features 300 midwestern
wetland plants organized by plant type. Categories include ferns, grasses,
sedges, trees, monocots, and dicots. A color picture and descriptive information
are available for each plant featured. This list would be useful in
selecting native wetland plants for any planting project.
USGS National Water Quality
Assessment Program (NAWQA). NAWQA has been collecting and analyzing
data and information since 1991. USGS scientists have collected data in
more than 50 major river basins and aquifers across the nation. The goal
is to develop long-term consistent and comparable information on streams,
ground water, and aquatic ecosystems to support sound management and policy
decisions. Data, publications, summary reports, and maps are available
from the web site. This site would be useful for anyone seeking hard
scientific data on the water quality of a specific waterway.
USGS National Wetlands Research Center.
The mission of the National Wetlands Research Center is to develop and
disseminate scientific information needed for understanding the ecology
and values of our nation’s wetlands and for managing and restoring wetland
habitats and associated plant and animal communities. This site provides
a number of wetland-related resources, including media resources, education
and training materials, and publications.
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