Wetland Restoration
Most people think they know a wetland when they see one, but the delineation of wetlands for the purpose of granting permits has proven enormously controversial. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an area is defined as a wetland when a combination of three technical criteria are met: Wetland hydrology (land that is saturated within 18 inches of the surface for more than seven days per year), Hydrophytic vegetation (a list of plants that will thrive in wet areas), and Hydric soil (mucky and peat-based soil). The continual destruction of these valuable lands is due mainly to farmers, oil and mining interests, and development groups (Russel, p.36). It is estimated that 30-40% of the original wetlands in the United States have been lost, and about 300-400,000 acres are destroyed each year (Hollis, p. 36). Recent concern has led to an increase in wetland restoration and creation to reduce the impacts of activities in or near wetlands, compensate for additional losses, and to restore or replace wetlands already degraded or destroyed (Nicholas, p. 39).
Wetlands serve many purposes and are considered one of the most productive natural systems in the world. They serve as crucial "pit-stops" for migratory bird, house several species of plants and animals, cleanse and purify water, as well as providing utilitarian needs such as flood control (Allen, p.13). If fifteen percent of the wetlands destroyed in Ohio and Iowa would have been saved (over the history of wetland destruction), then two-thirds of the destructive flooding that happened throughout 1993 in the Midwest could have been prevented saving the U.S. a great deal of money. Maintaining the protection and restoration of the nation’s wetl...
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...ion of Wetlands Is Crucial to State’s Economy, Report Contends"Los Angeles Times. 1 Oct. 1993: A3-A27.
Hollis, Ted and James Bedding. "Can We Stop the Wetlands From Drying Up?" New Scientist. 2 July, 1994: 30-35.
Kusler, Jon A. and Mary E. Kentula. Wetland Creation and Restoration. Island Press: Washington, D.C., 1990.
MacDonald, Lynn. "Water Pollution Solution: Build a Marsh." American Forests.July/August 1994: 26-29.
Nicholas, Sara. "The War Over Wetlands" Issues in Science and Technology. Summer1992: 35-41.
Russel, James S. "Wetlands Dilemma" Architectural Record. January 1993: 36-39.
Selbert, Pamela. "Wetlands & Wal-Mart" American Forests. August 1994: 60-64.
Turner, Eugene and J.M. Lee. "Backfilling Canals as Wetland Restoration Technique in Coastal Louisiana" University Research Initiative. U.S. Department of the Interior: Louisiana, 1994.
...nks distinguish between preserved, restored, or created credits, conservation banks currently do not. The FWS’s federal guidance and California’s guidance do not state a preference for restored, enhanced, created, or preserved habitat, but approximately 94% of conservation bank credits are derived from preservation. Regulatory agencies often struggle with awarding credits for created wetland habitat due to performance risks and doubt about ecological value. Habitat creation for conservation banking has yet to be tested. Another issue of concern to conservation banking and preservation habitat is long-term management. Unless there is active management on areas where the ecosystem relies on it (e.g., controlled burning, invasive species control), using preservation for mitigation could lead to a net loss of habitat for a particular species. (Fox and Nino-Murcia, 2005)
Westfields, a medium sized wetland region, is located on the outskirts of Limerick city and within the floodplain of the River Shannon (CAAS (Environmental Services) Ltd., 1999). Wetland regions are broadly defined within the Ramsar Convention (1971, 1), as, “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.” Identified as some of the most diverse habitats on earth, wetlands are also under severe threat, with a “10% decrease in their area occurring worldwide between the years 1990 and 2006” (CORINE, 2006). Westfields is no exception. Known worldwide for the diverse flora and fauna, in particular avifauna, that are present, the area has seen a dramatic decrease in size from its traditional expansive domain to a present area of twenty-six hectares. Thus, this essay aims to examine in detail the biogeographic merits of these declining wetland regions in particular Westfields, record the current condition of this particular wetland, and explore potential ideas for future conservation.
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote the novel, Crime and Punishment, during a turbulent time in Russian history. Yet his work will speaks to any age. Dostoevsky wrote to warn against what he considered the negative effects of the trend of nihilism and rational egoism. He advances this objective by employing themes of suffering, resurrection, and death--all of these currents running through a surprisingly benevolent universe.
Helgeson, Rubell. Commentary. "A Phony War to Save the Ballona Wetlands." Los Angeles Times 6 Dec. 1996: B10.
In such poor living conditions, those that the slums of Russia has to offer, the characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment1 struggle, living day to day. Raskolnikov, the protagonist, experiences multiple layers of suffering (the thought of his murder causes him greater suffering than does his poverty) as does Sonia and Katerina Ivanovna (1). Through these characters as well as Porfiry Petrovitch, Dostoevsky wants the reader to understand that suffering is the cost of happiness and he uses it to ultimately obliterate Raskolnikov’s theory of an ubermensch which allows him to experience infinite love.
As a result of Dostoevsky’s diligence and commitment to making this effort effective the special things about Russia that are good and dear to the heart were saved. The faith in the common man is surprising and a typical of Dostoevsky.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
Klyza, Christopher McGrory, and Paula Anne Ford-Martin. "Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980)" Environmental Encyclopedia. Eds. Marci Bortman, Peter Brimblecombe, Mary Ann Cunningham, William P. Cunningham, and William Freedman. Vol. 1. 3rd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2003. 1 pp. 2 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. GILA RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. 20 Feb. 2015
Dostoevsky, Fyodor M. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. George Gibian. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1989.
The Florida Everglades is one of the most diverse wetland ecosystems in the United States. These tropical wetlands span an area of more than seven hundred square miles in southern Florida. The term Everglade means river of grass. The system starts in central Florida near Orlando and travels southwest to the tip of Florida. The Everglades has a wet season and a dry season which causes a great change in hydrology. During the wet season the system is a slow moving river that is sixty miles wide and over a hundred miles long. During the dry season water levels drop and some areas will completely dry up. The Everglades has many different aquatic environments all having interdependent ecosystems. The most important factor for all these environments is water. It helps shape the land, vegetation, and all the organism that live in each area. Each environment has particular needs for the organisms living in that area. Throughout the years humans have diverted the water to fit their varying needs. The state has built dikes and levees, dug canals, and have built locks to divert the water. This has all been done to keep areas completely dry for developing and agricultural needs. Today, The Everglades is half the size of its original size. Throughout the years many restoration acts have been created and updated. The Everglades restoration projects have been the most expensive environmental repairs in The United States. This is because The Everglades is one of the three most important wetland areas in the world. The Everglades National Park is the home of thirty six protected species including the West Indian Manatee, the American Crocodile, and the Florida Panther. The Everglades also homes hundreds of species of birds, fish, mammals, and repti...
Buddhism, a dharmic tradition, seeks to relieve people from suffering. Buddha discovered the problem with the world is that it is full of suffering and seeks to bring an end to the endless suffering and succeed in the search for lasting happiness. In other words, we can say that suffering is what inspired Buddhism. Furthermore dharma in Buddhism would be the universal truth or law as a result Buddha came up with The Four Noble Truths to support and sum up his teachings.
One of the most profound and obvious changes in Raskolnikov’s character can be seen in the newfound appreciation for other people and human relationships he discovers at the end of the novel. When the reader is first introduced to Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky quickly makes it apparent that he has little to no regard for others, writing on the very first page that Raskolnikov was “so completely absorbed in himself, and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not only his landlady, but anyone at all” (1). Indeed, in Raskolnikov’s mind, “to be forced to listen to [the landlady’s] trivial, irrelevant gossip […] and to rack his brains for excuses, to prevaricate, to lie” is the most loathsome thing imaginable (1). His disdain toward other people is so great that the mere thought of interacting with anyone for any length of time repulses him. On some occasions...
Founded in 1990, the Little River Wetlands Project is a nonprofit land trust with the goal of restoring and preserving the wetlands in the watershed of the Little ...
Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about 6% of the global land area and are among the most valuable environmental resources.
Stiling, Peter. Ecology: Theories and Applications. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.