Issue
Currently, information of how wetlands and some other aquatic ecosystems function is restricted to a few decades of biological studies. Government and public awareness relating to wetlands remains focused on wetland habitats providing services to biological organisms. Although the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and other agencies have recognized wetland ecosystems as complex systems melding scientific information on hydrology, soils, and water quality, major questions remain. Furthermore, current regulatory policies implemented by federal (USEPA, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Army Corps of Engineers), and state (California Department of Fish and Game) agencies are based on limited and decades old information. The result often is a poor understanding of the wetland ecosystems resulting in more limited protection and management of these ecosystems. The gap in agencies and public awareness is due, in part, to two main problems: 1) a lack of multi-disciplinary studies of wetlands that integrate these various components and processes into a detailed ecosystem function understanding and 2) poor dissemination of information on wetland research in a format outside of purely scientific journals and conferences that can be readily understood and used by agencies and the public.Goals and Objectives
Provide scientifically sound information on wetland ecosystems based on multi-disciplinary approaches to their functioning.
-Identify specific gaps in our awareness and understanding of wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems that affect how public agencies and private organizations protect and manage these systems.
-Develop and conduct scientific studies on wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems using a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and applying leading edge technologies.
-Collaborate with scientists associated with universities and federal and state agencies to formulate working groups capable of discussing and debating the types of information needed, the approach and methods, and the results relevant to a better understanding of wetland ecosystems.
-Develop and conduct scientific studies on wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems using a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and applying leading edge technologies.
Provide scientifically sound information that has been peer reviewed in the scientific community in various forums, including use of the media, conferences, and special presentations and workshops in order to make the information immediately available and usable to agencies and the public.
-Synthesize both existing and new information and present it through journal publications whose intended audience include the federal and state wetland regulators and the interested public.
-Publish new research in journals, whose audience includes regulators, land managers, environmental conservation organizations, and habitat restoration organizations.
-Present the above synthesized and new information at scientific conferences particularly conferences attended by wetland regulators, land managers, and restoration organizations. These conferences would include but not be limited to the International Society of Wetland Scientists and the International and California Societies for Ecological Restoration.
-Conduct workshops designed to include the new, best available scientific information on wetland ecosystems and invite regulatory and land management agency staff responsible for wetland issues, private and non-profit restoration and land management groups and organizations, and scientists working in the field.