Estimating Wetland Losses and Gains in Coastal North Carolina: 1994-2001

Wetland resources have continued to decline in coastal regions of the United States despite passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act, creation of federal and state wetland permitting programs, and declaration of the goal of no net loss of wetland resources. Wetland loss rates were assessed across 20 counties in coastal North Carolina from 1994 to 2001 using 1994 wetland inventory data from the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (NCDCM) and the 2001 National Land Cover Dataset. Accuracy assessment results were used to generate adjusted estimates of wetland loss, and the results were compared to restoration data from the NCDCM. Total wetland loss from 1994 to 2001 was 25,303 ha, or 1.95% of the 1994 wetland area. Of the total, 17,858 ha converted to upland and 7,445 ha converted to open water. These results are somewhat higher than published loss rates for Atlantic coastal watersheds and for the United States as a whole. By contrast, agency records suggest that a maximum of 4,591 ha of wetland restoration and 68 ha of wetland creation were begun in the 20 North Carolina coastal counties from 1994 to 2001.