Assessing Man's Impact On Wetlands

In February, shortly after he became President of the United States, Jimmy Carter launched a massive review of Federal water resource projects with an objective of eliminating those on-going and proposed efforts which were environmentally or economically unsound. A key feature for the Carter team in the assessment of environmental impact was the impact of any construction on the dwindling wetland assets of the Nation. At that time I was serving as head of a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers field unit and several of the unit's projects were subject to the Carter review. This paper represents my look for the methodology I would like to have had in March 1977. Grant no. 04-8-M01-66