2001-2003 Minnesota Wetland Report

Minnesota is blessed with an abundance of wetlands. However, their values and benefits have not always been recognized. Past state and federal encouragement of wetland draining and filling speak to the evolving recognition of the importance of wetlands. Over the past two decades, federal, state, and local activities have increasingly been effective in regulating impacts and restoring previously impacted wetlands. A significant new chapter in wetland management began in Minnesota with passage of the Wetland Conservation Act, also known as WCA, in 1991. The key provision of the WCA is the enactment of the state policy to achieve a "no net loss" and "to increase the quantity and quality and biological diversity" of wetlands in the state. This policy, in M.S. 103A.201, and reads as follows: (1) achieve no net loss in the quantity, quality, and biological diversity of Minnesota's existing wetlands; (2) increase the quantity, quality, and biological diversity of Minnesota's wetlands by restoring or enhancing diminished or drained wetlands; (3) avoid direct or indirect impacts from activities that destroy or diminish the quantity, quality, and biological diversity of wetlands; and (4) replace wetland values where avoidance of activity is not feasible and prudent.