Are Wetlands a Nuisance?

(Source: "Wetland Policy Issues," February 1994, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, CAST).

The current trend is to protect and restore wetlands. But not everyone is completely enthusiastic about them.

Some view them as nature preserves, others as hunting and fishing meccas. Then there are those who view wetlands as potential building sites, roadbeds or cropland.

Some of these uses are compatible with one another, others are not.

Disagreement between differing camps often surrounds wetland conversions, conflicting uses and legal battles over property rights. Each of these potential areas of conflict can be viewed from the perspective of the wetland's owner, users, special interest groups, regulating agencies, private organizations and society as a whole.

A Nuisance?

Wetlands are sometimes thought of as a nuisance by farm owners and operators as well as developers, highway and transportation planners and others who must sometimes learn to work around wetlands.

Farm operators in particular sometimes contend with wetlands as obstacles to field operations. Also, many farmers have traditionally viewed wetland conversion as an inexpensive way to increase cropland acreage.

Wetlands can often be obstacles to intensified farming practices. Center pivot irrigation systems become more difficult to operate in fields scattered with wetlands, for example; and altering wetlands to accommodate center pivots may violate state or federal wetland protection laws.

Wetlands can also become a seedbed for noxious weeds.

Wildlife habitat they create is also not always a help, as animals using them can depredate nearby crops. In North Dakota, for example, migrating blackbirds roosting in cattail marshes are responsible for an estimated $2 million loss per year to North Dakota's sunflower crop.

A Value?

Pluses for farmers are that wetlands can provide a source of hay in drought years and may provide irrigation or livestock water.

They can also become a source of alternative income for landowners who charge fees for recreational access, such as hunting or birdwatching.

Farmers, themselves, can spend stray moments gazing across the cattails at a variety of creatures that have lived and moved on the prairies for thousands, in some cases millions of years.

Many real estate developers are beginning to see wetlands as more of an enhancement than as a nuisance, as well. With laws hindering their development, some developments have been planned around wetlands, where they can add to property values through added open space, wildlife habitat and other aesthetic attributes.