Wetlands and Agriculture: Private Interests and Public Benefits
- by Ralph Heimlich, Keith Wiebe, Roger Claassen, Dwight Gadsby and Robert House
- 9/1/1998
Overview
Society has recently increased the value it places on the services that wetlands provide, including water quality improvements, flood control, wildlife habitat, and recreation. However, owners of wetlands are often unable to profit from these services because the benefits created are freely enjoyed by many. This report examines differences between public and private incentives regarding wetlands. Federal wetland policy has shifted in recent decades--from encouraging wetland conversion to encouraging wetland protection and restoration--in an effort to balance public and private objectives. The report assesses the need for continued wetlands protection policies as the United States approaches achieving the goal of no net loss of wetlands.
Download
-
Entire report
Download PDF -
Frontmatter (Abstract, Table of Contents, List of Tables and Figures, Summary)
Download PDF -
Introduction
Download PDF -
Wetland Economies
Download PDF -
What Is a Wetland?
Download PDF -
Wetland Functions: Physical Values and Economic Values
Download PDF -
Wetland Status and Trends, Settlement to 1992
Download PDF -
Federal Wetland Policies and National Trends
Download PDF -
Wetland Future: Ongoing and Emerging Issues in Wetland Policy
Download PDF -
Conclusions
Download PDF -
Appendix I--Valuation Studies Summary
Download PDF -
Appendix II--Wetland Trend Data, Methods, and Results
Download PDF -
Appendix III--Estimating Wetland Conversion for Agriculture in the Absence of Swampbuster and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act
Download PDF -
References
Download PDF -
Index
Download PDF