Trump Administration Sends Devastating Blow to Protection of Streams and Isolated Wetlands on Private Lands, Will Impact Refuge Lands

 Today, the Trump Administration announced that they are finalizing a rule that will eliminate protections of certain streams and wetlands. The Waters of the United States regulation has been instrumental in protecting streams and isolated wetlands, particularly in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. With the repeal of this rule, farmers and developers will be able to drain wetlands that are critical habitat and nesting grounds for millions of waterfowl, and turn it into row crops. Wildlife refuges will be greatly affected by any draining of wetlands, given the connectivity of these wetlands units and streams.

Gadwall drake at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge by Tom Koerner / USFWS

In the Prairie Pothole Region, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has worked since the days of the Dust Bowl to protect wetlands by using Federal Duck Stamp dollars to purchase nearly 100 units of land, now included in the National Wildlife Refuge System and Waterfowl Production Areas. These areas act as flood control and reduce runoff, as well as providing habitat for migratory waterfowl. This combination of privately-held farmland and refuge lands provide nesting habitat for the majority of migratory waterfowl on the North American continent.

While this rule only impacts private lands, without these protections, the WPAs and wildlife refuge units in the PPR will be further isolated and overpopulated. Private landowners have worked for years with the Department of Agriculture to conserve these wetlands through conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and the rescission of this rule will gut generations of protection.

The Refuge Association is very concerned about what the rescission of this rule will mean for the National Wildlife Refuge System and waterfowl populations across the continent. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the PPR to continental waterfowl populations, and we are deeply troubled that the Administration has ignored the scientific consensus that unquestionably proves the vital role these wetlands play in wildlife conservation.