Federal Resilience Programs: North American Wetlands Conservation Act | Article

Wetlands—such as marshes, mangroves, swamps, bogs, and fens—are “biological super systems” that support a high level of biodiversity, including by providing crucial habitat for migratory birds and ecosystem services that benefit communities and natural systems. For example, coastal wetlands in the United States are estimated to provide $23.2 billion in storm protection annually.

However, wetland ecosystems have been diminished by development, pollution, agriculture, sea level rise, and climate change. In the 1600s, wetlands occupied 221 million acres in the United States, but by the 1980s, that was reduced to 103 million acres. Restoring and maintaining healthy wetlands can help ecosystems and the communities that depend on them improve overall environmental health and build resilience to climate impacts.

What is the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)?

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) was passed in 1989 to protect, enhance, and restore wetlands and waterfowl in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which administers the program, the NAWCA is the “only federal grant program dedicated to the conservation of wetland habitats for migratory birds” and is “considered by many to be the most important piece of legislation and funding mechanism to conserve wetlands in the U.S. today.”

How does the NAWCA relate to climate adaptation and resilience?

Wetlands reduce the impacts of extreme weather such as flooding and drought by absorbing water in wet areas and recharging groundwater in dry areas. Wetlands also protect ecosystems and communities from storms; for example, 15 feet of marsh can absorb up to 50 percent of incoming wave energy, and 330 feet of mangrove trees can reduce wave height by 66 percent. Additionally, wetlands provide a buffer for sea level rise, prevent erosion, filter pollutants and sediment, and provide habitat for local and migratory species.

Healthy wetland ecosystems mitigate climate change by a bsorbing and storing carbon dioxide. However, wetlands themselves are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and drought. By restoring and maintaining wetlands, the NAWCA increases the climate resilience of these ecosystems which, in turn, maximizes the adaptation and resilience benefits that these ecosystems provide to communities.

How does the NAWCA work?

The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund is the primary funding mechanism for the NAWCA. There is a standard grants program of up to $1 million and a small grants program of up to $100,000. The program requires one-to-one federal-partner grant matches, but partners, on average, provide $3.20 in matching funds for every $1 of federal money. The NAWCA supports the North American Waterfowl Management Plan which is an agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to recover waterfowl populations through habitat protection.

NAWCA in Action

Louisiana—which has experienced some of the most significant wetland loss in the country—loses the equivalent of a football field of wetlands every 100 minutes. In 2021, a $1 million NAWCA grant was awarded to Ducks Unlimited, which provided a matching grant of about $2.5 million, for the Continental Marsh Enhancement project. The project aims to restore 5,280 acres of wetlands habitat in the Terrebonne and Pontchartrain Basins in coastal Louisiana.

The Terrebonne Basin has lost 20 percent of its wetlands since the 1930s and nearly eight percent of land in the Pontchartrain Basin has been lost over the same period. The Continental Marsh Enhancement project will help offset coastal wetland losses. Other projects in states like Arkansas, Maine, and South Carolina were funded through the NAWCA, protecting over 160,000 acres of wetlands in 2021 alone.

What is the outcome of the NAWCA?

Since its establishment, the NAWCA has provided grants for over 3,000 projects in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, resulting in the protection of over 32 million acres. The program creates nearly 7,500 new jobs annually and has translated $1.6 billion in federal funds to more than $4.6 billion in matching grants from partner organizations for conservation projects. According to the FWS, over 6,500 partners have been engaged in NAWCA projects including landowners, states, local governments, conservation organizations, recreation groups, Tribes, and corporations, and local economies have benefited from recreational activities, such as hunting and fishing, on restored habitats.

What is the current state of the NAWCA?
In October 2020, the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (P.L. 116-188) was signed into law, reauthorizing funding of up to $60 million annually for the NAWCA until Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The Department of the Interior FY 2022 budget requests $46.5 million for the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, on par with FY 2021 enacted levels. The budget justification states that the program supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of conserving 30 percent of land and water in the United States by 2030, increasing climate adaptation and resilience, and protecting recreational activities.

Author: Savannah Bertrand