Watching the world wake up in a wetland can make for an unforgettable experience. The world suddenly comes alive with the whistling of duck wings, the sight of a beaver or muskrat plying the water, the swirl of a fish catching its morning meal, and the cacophony of preset alarms on your friend’s cell phone alarm letting you know to put down the doughnut, shooting hours have arrived. Wetlands vary in shape, size, and type but they all play an important role in providing clean water and habitat to the benefit of both wildlife and people.
Wetlands today face an ever-changing and complex reality. Land use changes, development and other practices that alter water resources upon which wetlands depend put pressure on the landscape, oftentimes to the detriment of wetlands and water quality. In an effort to better manage and prevent degradation of wetlands under the purview of the state, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Wetlands Conservation Act (WCA) in 1991. The act sought to minimize impacts to wetlands from human activity and identified a goal of realizing no net loss of wetland quantity, quality, or biological diversity statewide. The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is responsible for administering the Wetland Conservation Act and works with local units of government on implementation efforts.
While the Wetland Conservation Act details a goal of realizing no let loss of wetlands statewide, for hunters and anglers, the central question is not simply how many wetland acres remain, but whether those acres still perform the same functions in the same watershed. A shallow marsh used by spawning northern pike, a seasonal wetland that provides spring food for ducks, or a groundwater-connected wetland that helps sustain a stream cannot necessarily be replaced by a generic wetland credit miles away. Similarly, when a local wetland is developed, more than water and wildlife is affected. Local duck hunters may lose access to a favored duck blind spot that doesn’t reappear elsewhere because a wetland credit is purchased.
This fall all Minnesotans will have the opportunity to help support wetland conservation through a public rulemaking process to update the rules implementing Minnesota’s Wetland Conservation Act. Opportunities to really “get under the hood” of the WCA don’t happen all that often. While the law is updated from time to time in response to statutory changes, the last major revision occurred in 2009. Now is the time to lend support and propose changes to address new realities, including a changing climate, historic wetland loss, ongoing degradation and conversion, the loss of wetland functions that statewide acreage totals can conceal, and the recent federal Sackett v. EPA decision – shrinking the footprint of the federal Clean Water Act – that makes clear and effective state protections even more consequential.
The timing and structure of the rulemaking is admittedly a bit complex so hang with me here. At this time BWSR has published on its website a Revisor certified draft rule and a draft Statement of Need and Reasonableness, which provides details on why the proposed rules are needed and sensible. In the coming weeks BWSR will publish a Notice of Intent to Adopt Rules in the State Register relating to the WCA. This action will start a 60-day public comment period. One important thing to remember is that comments submitted before the beginning of the 60-day period will not be included in the official rulemaking record. Timing is important.
In preparation for taking part in the public rulemaking process once the 60-day window opens, the Minnesota Wildlife Federation has written a commentary that urges BWSR to adopt language changes related to some of the state’s most critical wetland concerns. This includes stressing the importance of wetlands for hunters, anglers, foragers, and outdoor recreationists and the habitat, clean water, and public access opportunities they provide; acknowledging the growing importance of the health of our state’s expansive peatlands in preparing for and mitigating the effects of climate change, storing water, and providing resilience during drought and wildfire; and urging the adoption of clearer, more consistent statewide implementation and enforcement.
Soon it will be time to take action. I suggest two ways for you to engage.
- Join our MWF comment letter: Visit www.mnwildlife.org to read in our comment letter and add your name as a signee. We will be watching for the start of the 60-day comment period and will be prepared to submit this commentary before the end of the public participation period.
- Identify the rule provision you want changed, the change you want, and why and submit your own comments during the 60-day window of opportunity. Visit
https://bwsr.state.mn.us/wca-rulemaking to read the draft rule and submit your comments.
Brad Gausman
Executive Director
Minnesota Wildlife Federation
