Full document / COSOC-W-86-002 - the National Sea Grant Library

Estuarine and Coastal Management - Toolsof the
Trade. Proceedings oftheTenth National Conference
ofThe Coastal Society. October 1215.1986. New
Orleans. LA. Copyright byThe Coastal Society
1987.
COASTAL WETLANDS: ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL DATABASE
Inlmrliiraion
Charles E. Alexander
Strategic Assessment Branch -Ocean Assessments Division
Officeof Oceanography andMarine Assessment
National Ocean Service
National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration
1400 Rockvflle Pike
Rockville,MD 20852
Don W. Field
BeanfonLaboratory - Southeast Fisheries Center
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration
Beaufort. NC 28516
Coastal wetlands are an Important and irreplaceable national resource. From Maine to
Florida,acrossthe Gufl of Mexico to Texas, and intermmentiy atono the West Coast, a thin
belt ol wetlands provide critical habitat to fish, shellfish, and wildlife; litter and process
agricultural wattles, and butler coastal areas against storm and wave damage. They also
generals large revenues from a wide variety ol recreallOnal activities such as fishing and
hunllng.
However, coastal wetlands have been disappearing at an average rale ol 20,000 acres (31
square miles) per year over the past 25 years (Frayer et al., 1983). Urbanization,
agriculture, hydrocarbon exploration, and other human activities have contributed to this
loss. Furthermore, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 1990,75 percent of the U.S.
population will live within 50 miles of the coastline (including the Great Lakes), Indicating
even greater competition In coastal areas tor limited space and resources (President's
Council on Environmental Quality, 1984). In spite ol these facts, no comprehensive
information base on the Nation's coastal wetlands is presently available.
This paper briefly describes a project to develop a comprehensive and consistently
derived coastal wetland data base for the coterminous USA. The Inventory is part of a
series of activities now underway at NOAA to develop a national estuarine assessment
capability. This includes compiiaUon of the best available information at the national level
needed to characterize the physical, hydrologic. biological, and economic dimensions ol
tho Nation's estuaries.
The wetland inventory prolect is being conducted lolntiy by the Strategic Assessment
Branch (SAB) ol the Ocean Assessments Division ol the Office of Oceanography and
Marine Assessment, National Ocean Service (NOS), and the Beaufort Laboratory of the
Southeast Fisheries Center, NationalMarineFisheries Service (NMFS), both components
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Development ol this
information is an integral pari of NOS's program of strategic assessments of the Nation's
coastal and oceanic region (Ehter and Basta, 19S4) and NMFS* national program to
determine the status and trends of coastal fisheries habitat (Lindaiiand Thayer, 1982).
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