ENHANCED VS. RESTORED VS. CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS Jill Kostel, PhD Senior Environmental Engineer The Wetlands Initiative [email protected] All Things Wetlands • What is a wetland? • Why we should value wetlands? • What are the different wetland practices? • How do we talk about constructed wetlands with farmers? BAYOU, BILLABONG, BOG, CARR, DAMBO, DELTA, FEN, LAGOON, MANGROVE, MARSH, MIRE, MOOR, MUSKEG, POCOSIN, POTHOLE, SEEP, SLOUGH, SWAMP, VLEI, VERNAL POOL, WET MEADOW 3 Defining Wetland Characteristics Hydrology Hydric Soils HydrophyticPlants Pre-Settlement Wetlands in Illinois (Images by Jim Monchak/TWI) Wetland Ecosystem Functions Providing direct and indirect benefits Direct Wildlife habitat NURSERY HABITAT HOTEL HOME Wetland Ecosystem Functions Providing direct and indirect benefits Direct Wildlife habitat Recreational opportunities RECREATION Wetlands form the basis for the $600 million outdoor recreation industry in Illinois. Wetland Ecosystem Functions Providing direct and indirect benefits Direct Wildlife habitat Recreational opportunities Water quality improvement WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Nutrient Transformation and Sequestration Symbols courtesy of the Integration and Application Network, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (ian.umces.edu/symbols/). Wetland Ecosystem Functions Providing direct and indirect benefits Direct Global Wildlife habitat Clean water supply Recreational opportunities Oxygen regeneration Water quality improvement Carbon storage Flood water storage Nutrient cycling Groundwater recharge Human survival Shoreline protection Raw materials Indirect Medicinal resources Most productive ecosystem Fuel Storehouse of biodiversity Food and fodder Hunting opportunities BIODIVERSITY U.S. wetlands support about 5,000 plants, 190 amphibian species, and 1/3 of all bird species. Wetland Loss in Illinois Pre-Settlement (1780s) 1980s 23% of Land Cover 3.5% of Land Cover (8,212,000 acres) (1,254,000 acres) Only 6,000 acres are considered high in ecological quality. (Images by Jim Monchak/TWI; data from Dahl, 1990) Wetland Conservation Compliance On farms, in order to maintain USDA benefits: • Leave the wet areas intact and unaltered, continue farming activities around the wetland area, or farm the area if dry conditions exist but do not make any land manipulations (e.g., filling, drainage, clearing, etc.). • Enroll in a USDA voluntary program that provides resources to restore and protect wetlands (Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Agriculture Conservation Easement Program-Wetland Reserve Easement). • If you wish to alter your wetland acreage • Mitigate any wetland losses • Purchase wetland credits through a mitigation bank • Request a minimal effect determination from NRCS • Wetland drainage activities may be subject to provisions under the Clean Water Act Enhancement vs. Restoration vs. Constructed The augmentation of wetland functions beyond the original natural conditions on a former, degraded or naturally functioning wetland site. • Enhance selected functions to conditions different than those that originally existed. • Targets are to improve habitat for a targeted species, wildlife, or recreational purposes. • Tend to enhance one function at the expense of others IL 659 Wetland Enhancement (EQIP) Wetland Reserve Easement Enhancement vs. Restoration vs. Constructed Restoration establishes conditions similar to the original conditions where wetlands have been changed by human activities. • Hydric soils are present. • The “original” hydrologyand topography is reestablished. • Target is to restore the natural hydrology, topography, native vegetation and natural processesand functions. IL 657 Wetland Restoration (EQIP) CP23 Wetland Restoration (Floodplain) CP23A Wetland Restoration (Non-flood) CP27 Farmable Wetland –Wetland CP28 Farmable Wetland – Buffer Wetland Reserve Easement 20 YEARS LATER (BIODIVERSITY DESIGN TARGET) (J. PYSZKA) (D. GLAZIK) Enhancement vs. Restoration vs. Constructed A constructed wetland is a wetland created specifically for the purpose of treating water (aka a treatment wetland). It is an artificial or man-made ecosystem. • Engineered systems designed to utilize and “optimize” specific wetland characteristics and functions that improve water quality. • Treatment wetlands have been researched and used to capture and treat surface runoff or end-of-pipe discharges for over four decades. • It can be built in an area where a wetland never historically existed (created wetland) or prior converted farmland. • IL 656 or CRP CP39 Constructed Wetland Many restored wetlands are “constructed” to develop needed hydrologic connections/retention and topography for habitat targets, but they are not constructed wetlands! Constructed Wetlands for Cropland Tile Drainage Treatment (TILE DRAINAGE CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS) (K. KIRKHAM) Enhancement vs. Restoration vs. Constructed Criteria Enhancement Restoration Constructed Created Hydric Soil PC ONLY Non-hydric Soil Natural (Existing or Former) Artificial Ecosystem Wildlife or Biodiversity Target Water Quality Target Water Level Management Earthmoving, Embankments Tile Drainage as source “WHAT? A WETLAND ON MY FARM?” (AUDUBON GREAT LAKES) (Elite Entertainment) Constructed Wetland Key Messages Productivist Conservationist • Constructed wetland are a “newer” • Can test water at inlet to understand technology to improve tile drainage impacts of crop production practices in the systems in Illinois tile-drainage area • One of the most cost effective nutrient • Can be designed to include buffers and removal practices available other structures to reduce erosion from • Can be installed on unproductive land overland water flow thereby improving profitability • Reduces nutrient flowing from cropland • Once established, it is a self-sustaining into streams/ditches thereby protecting system stream health • Does not require changes in crop • Requires up-front installation costs, it is a production practices or systems long-term, effective and efficient way to significantly reduces negative impact of • Can be placed out of public view nutrients on your local environment The Wetlands Initiative is a nonprofit dedicated to restoring the wetland resources of the Midwest to improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce flood damage..