Story Archives of 'Wetlands'

More than half of US wetlands have been drained for development, farmland, and other purposes. That's 100-million acres now dried up.

The Bush Administration has continued a "no net loss" policy of any more wetlands.

So, when someone wants to drain a marsh or a swamp for, say, a new housing development, they've got to build a man-made wetland to replace it.

But a new study is finding that most of those man-made wetlands aren't doing very well.

Julie Grant reports.

The Great Bog is one of Portsmouth?s most celebrated natural resources. Its 600-acres include some of the rarest wetlands in New Hampshire -- providing unparalleled wildlife habitat, a quiet place to walk, and clean drinking water.
But Portsmouth is also contending with the Bog?s other reputation: some people think of the Great Bog as a great place to dump an old car. New Hampshire Public Radio?s Doug MacPherson reports.

State and federal officials appear to be at a stalemate over the widening of Interstate 93. At issue is how much mitigation the state needs to do for the impact of the thousands of new residents the completed highway is expected to attract.
NHPR?s Doug MacPherson reports.

This week the Department of Environmental Services rejected a proposed bypass around the town of Troy. The reason for the refusal, the unnecessary destruction of wetlands. The city of Concord is also hoping to build a bypass, and is requesting a permit from the agency to cut across at least four and a half acres of wetlands. The new road would represent the southern leg of what is known as the Northwest Bypass. NHPR�s Dan Gorenstein reports.

Environmental groups have joined together to upgrade and maintain Portsmouth's Great Bog. The city worked out a deal to buy the nearly 200 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat from developers.