Wetlands

Losses in the United States

1780's to 1980's

Focus of the Report

Section 401 (a) of the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 [16 U.S.C. 3931(a)] was amended by section 18 of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-233). The amendment requires the following:

(A): an assessment of the estimated total number of acres of wetland habitat as of the 1780's in the areas that now comprise each state; and
(B): an assessment of the estimated total number of acres of wetlands in each state as of the 1980's, and the percentage of loss of wet lands in each state between 1780's and the 1980's.

The information presented in this report fulfills those requirements. Data on acres of wetland habitat as of the 1780's, total number of acres of wetlands in each state as of the 1980's, and the percent of wetlands lost have been estimated. This information is in a tabular format to give a factual, quantitative measure of the acreage losses sustained during the 200-year time frame.

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