PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #8: Conservation Planning and Monitoring.
Monday, August 5. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Temporary wetland losses: Implications and recommendations for conservation using economic valuation methods.

Nambiar, Roshini^*,1, Schwartz, Steven¹, ¹ Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

ABSTRACT- The importance of conserving ephemeral wetlands has come into focus as more is learned about these fragmented habitats. These wetlands are valuable aesthetically and biologically for the ecosystem functions and critical habitats they provide. A problem in the protection of ephemeral habitats arises because regulatory agencies define them differently. Unlike permanent wetlands, these habitats are not protected under current laws in the wake of the Supreme Court Ruling in 2001 in the case of Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S Army Corps of Engineers et al. (SWANCC), which eliminated the extension of the Clean Water Act in protecting ephemeral wetlands. Although such habitats are broadly distributed, research indicates their biota disperses poorly resulting in an endemic biota requiring conservation and management at the statewide rather than the federal level. The hydrogeomorphic model (HGM) inadequately models local ephemeral wetland functions because it only takes into account hydrologic and geomorphic factors. Instead ephemeral habitats are more clearly defined by location, hydroperiod, vertebrate and invertebrate diversity and abundance, community structure, vegetation, topography, historical and present land use patterns, use by amphibians and migratory birds, energy dynamics, and water and soil chemistry. The complex interactions between these factors should be modeled to better understand the various processes that govern these wetlands. I propose a conservation plan for temporary wetlands, using an economic-ecosystem approach, assigning values to unique attributes characterizing these habitats and recommending additional factors to consider preserving these environments.

KEY WORDS: Ephemeral Wetlands, Conservation, Economic Valuation, Modeling