Join Kimberli Ponzio, an Environmental Scientist IV in the Bureau of Water Resources, as she discusses the benefits of wetlands and the work of the St. Johns River Water Management District to restore and protect wetlands.

A proposal to build a hotel and conference center in Fontainebleau State Park near Mandeville has yet to receive a public vetting - that comes Wednesday night - but is already generating controversy among some north shore residents and environmentalists. Opponents have cited several concerns, ranging from the prospect of more development at the 2,800-acre park on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain and the lack of local input in planning to the specter that the proposed resort will eventually include a gambling casino.

United Nations - Learn how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will transform the world, and why it is a priority for the United Nations.

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils.

Land was chosen and a road was developed, but the grocery store was never built after the Army Corps of Engineers changed the wetlands mitigation rules. The deal fell victim to stringent new requirements by the Army Corps of Engineers that forces developers to pay more to offset the loss of wetlands in new construction projects. And with much of St. Tammany Parish -- even the acres of pine forest that appear high and dry to the naked eye -- classified as wetlands by the corps, local leaders fear the tough new restrictions will stifle growth for years to come.

The Wetlands mapper is designed to deliver easy-to-use, map like views of America's Wetland resources. It integrates digital map data along with other resource information to produce current information on the status, extent, characteristics and functions of wetlands, riparian, and deepwater habitats. The Wetland Mapper fulfills the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's strategic plan for the development, revision and dissemination of wetlands data and information to resource managers and the public.

Voluntary public?private partnerships through conservation easements are important programs for conserving and restoring wetlands in the Great Lakes watershed. Little is known about what motivates landowners to participate, landowners' perceived value of the projects, the conservation management practices they undertake, and the impact of wetland restoration on property values. Therefore, the team evaluated wetland restoration projects based on biodiversity and environmental quality; hydrology and hydraulics; property owner knowledge, attitudes and behaviors; and impact on property value.

This webinar presented by Kay Stefanik discusses the ecosystem services provided by the wetlands of Iowa. In it, Stefanik explains the characteristics of a wetland, before further discussing the status of Iowa's wetlands and the reason they "matter" to communities in Iowa and elsewhere.

Wetlands play an important role in the lives of animals, plants, and humans. However, they are often overlooked and understudied. To learn more about the services provided by wetlands, our biologists joined up with a group of multidisciplinary researchers which included NGOs, universities, and masters students to research wetlands in Cambodia and Vietnam.

"Located in Maryland, USA, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is part of the largest area of tidal marsh within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and is of regional ecological significance for its wetlands and for the wildlife populations it supports. However, over 5,000 acres of tidal marsh have converted to open water on the refuge since 1938... In December 2016, 26,000 cubic yards of sediment was pumped in a thin-layer application over approximately 40 acres of tidal marsh on the refuge. The purpose of this project is to raise the elevation of the existing marsh platform."