Since then, the federal government has made a complete about-face. Over the last few years, a largely unnoticed transformation has taken place. Where once wetlands were being drained and filled, today they are being restored at such a rapid pace that, as the figure shows, the U.S. is now gaining wetlands.

Determining Losses of Wetlands.

• The Department of Interior surveyed wetlands between 1954 and 1974 and found an average loss of 458,000 acres a year.
• The Department of Interior also studied the years from 1974 to 1983 and found an estimated loss of 290,000 acres of wetlands a year.
• The Department of Agriculture's National Resources Inventory determined that the United States had lost approximately 156,000 acres a year from 1982 to 1992.

Why the Losses Have Declined.

The most likely reason behind the decline in agricultural conversion appears to be increasing agricultural productivity. In the past, as a farmer's productivity on a particular parcel of land decreased, he usually would retire that land and plow up previously unfarmed acres. But as new technologies increased the productivity per acre of farmland, the need to plow new land diminished.

As demand diminishes, the market value of cropland decreases and the relative cost of converting wetland to cropland increases. For example, it costs an estimated $700 an acre to convert wetland to cropland. Since 1985, average farm real estate values have been below $700 an acre. Thus, in most parts of the country it may be more economical to purchase idle farmland than to convert wetland.

Assuming that the loss of wetlands to development and other causes remains constant at roughly 89,000 acres a year, current wetland losses should not significantly exceed 100,000 acres a year.

Why Wetlands Have Increased.

Complementing government restoration of public lands and privately funded efforts are four key programs for restoring private lands:

• The Partners for Wildlife Program, under which the Fish and Wildlife Service has entered into thousands of voluntary agreements with private landowners, has restored more than 210,000 acres of wetlands since 1987, according to the Department of Interior.
• The North American Waterfowl Management Plan, under which Congress has appropriated funds for the restoration of waterfowl habitat, has restored 400,000 acres of U.S. wetlands since 1986.
• Under the Wetland Reserve Program, the Soil Conservation Service secured permanent easements for the restoration of 50,000 acres of cropland in 1993 and 75,000 acres in 1994.
• The Army Corps of Engineers required the restoration of more than 15,000 acres of wetlands as mitigation for development or other projects in 1993 and more than 38,000 acres in 1994.

No Net Loss.

This is not to say that wetlands are no longer an environmental concern. Rather, the debate should turn away from alarmist rhetoric about wetland loss and focus on realistic policy solutions. The fundamental importance of wetlands to society is not their wetness, but their ecological value and functions. In some cases, it may even be possible to maintain the value and functions without maintaining wetness.

This Brief Analysis was prepared by Jonathan Tolman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Note: Nothing written here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the National Center for Policy Analysis or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any legislation.