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NEWS • http: //news. yahoo. com/s/ap/climate_09_jellyfish _menace • http: //www. boston. com/news/nation/articles/200 9/11/19/us_liable_in_katrina_flood_judge_says/ • http: //www. boston. com/business/articles/2009/1 1/16/in_battle_to_save_hemlocks_hope_rests_o n_a_beetle/ • http: //www. boston. com/news/science/articles/20 09/11/18/carbon_pollution_up_despite_recessio n/

Wetlands Image courtesy of Moni 3, Wikipedia

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

Salt Marsh Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Vernal Pools Image courtesy of United States Geological Survey

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.

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

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

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

Salmon Image courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers

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