Federal Report announces wetlands increase

A federal report based on arial investigations taken in 2004 announces that wetlands increased. However this includes data from man made ponds.
Not an environmental victory. but a political one for Bush.

NYT article

Too bad they didn't take the study since Katrina hit. Then Bush could declare New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast ''reimmerging 'wetlands.' Knowing the way this administration works, he would declare the impact of the disaster as a political success.

Yes, they have increased becaues the the term 'wetland' has been redefined. Similar to Bush's achievement of pollution reduction by redefining what constituted as pollution.

One of Norton's last acts in office (she recently announced her resignation) was to brag that for the first time in more than 50 years, the nation had an overall gain of wetlands. Although a half-million acres of natural wetlands have been destroyed, 700,000 acres of artificial wetlands have been added.

And what replaced those swamps, marshes and salt flats that are the incubators of life and natural water filters? Norton counts golf course water hazards, ornamental ponds and wastewater treatment lagoons among the legitimate substitutes for nature.

"A significant amount of the increase has been in ponds," Norton said. "People like having ponds as an amenity. . . . Even ponds that are not a high quality of wetlands are better than not having wetlands."

www.sptimes.com...