The United States (US) Army Corps of Engineers and US Environmental Protection Agency share responsibility for regulating placement of fill material in coastal wetlands and open waters. However, achieving the goal of no net wetland loss has been difficult, particularly in urban regions where development pressures and environmental conditions have exacerbated wetland losses. Despite protections provided in the Clean Water Act, one significant wetland category is threatened by adherence to the rules regarding no discharge of fill: low-lying coastal wetlands subject to the effects of a changing climate, including rising sea level, higher storm surges, and flooding. Without inland migration or accretion of new sediments, coastal wetlands will be lost unless marsh surface elevations are raised. The northeastern US coastline is a hot spot that may be especially vulnerable to sea-level rise. To explore current restoration policy, three case studies were examined: Jamaica Bay, New York, disappearing marshes; Jersey City, New Jersey, Lincoln Park West marsh; and Kane Wetland Mitigation Bank in the New Jersey Meadowlands District. Questions related to projected sea-level rise, ecological topography and adjacencies, or the potential for extreme storm events and surges were not addressed in the designs of these recent restorations. Although placement of fill materials in wetlands, marshes, or open water can create unanticipated consequences, if there is stringent regulatory oversight and a transparent public process, allowing placement of fill to preserve coastal wetlands could increase coastal resiliency. We suggest that the greater danger is failing to acknowledge the predicted effects of a changing climate. Permitting decisions must take into account broader geographic areas, expanded time frames, and projected effects of climate change.

Environmental Practice 17: 46–56 (2015)

The North Carolina Wetland Assessment Method (NC WAM) was developed from 2003 to 2007 by a team of federal and state agencies to rapidly assess the level of wetland function. NC WAM is a field method which is science-based, reproducible, rapid, and observational in nature used to determine the level of wetland function relative to reference for each of 16 North Carolina general wetland types. Three major functions (Hydrology, Water Quality, and Habitat) were recognized along with 10 sub-functions. Sub-functions and functions are evaluated using 22 field metrics on a field assessment form. Data are entered into a computer program to generate High, Medium, and Low ratings for each sub-function, function, and the overall assessment area based on an iterative Boolean logic process using 71 unique combinations. The method was field tested across the state at more than 280 sites of varying wetland quality. Examples are presented for the use of NC WAM for compensatory mitigation notably to calculate functional uplift from wetland enhancement. Calibration and verification analyses to date show that the results of the method are significantly correlated with long-term wetland monitoring data and NC WAM has been verified for one wetland type (headwater forest) using these data.

Environmental Practice 17: 145–155 (2015)

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) have used Every Day Counts tools and other strategies to accelerate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process for projects intended to relieve congestion and improve safety in the Twin Tunnels area of Colorado’s Interstate 70 (I-70) Mountain Corridor. These Tier 2 projects follow the I-70 Mountain Corridor Tier 1 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). The Tier 2 Twin Tunnels projects incorporated tools from the FHWA Every Day Counts Shortening Project Delivery Toolkit, including the Planning and Environmental Linkages concept, legal sufficiency enhancements, and programmatic agreements; the Construction Manager/ General Contractor (CM/GC) alternative delivery method; and a unique stakeholder engagement approach. These tools were effective in reducing the Tier 2 NEPA process to half its normal duration, thereby accelerating overall project delivery. The Tier 2 process was easier to implement because of the scaffolding developed during the Tier 1 process. Establishing an early involvement agreement related to legal reviews allowed FHWA attorneys to work with the project team at early decision points. Using the CM/GC alternative delivery method allowed for early input from the contractor on the preliminary design, avoided the need for NEPA re-evaluations during the final design or construction process, and led to new ideas for avoiding or minimizing impacts to environmental resources. Early and continuous engagement with partner agencies and other stakeholders allowed for quick feedback and provided the necessary support to move the project forward quickly.

Environmental Practice 17: 278–290 (2015)

Utilizing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can be an efficient and repeatable means of surveying wildlife, especially waterbirds. As with any technology in its infancy, case studies offer opportunities to explore drawbacks and limitations, both anticipated and unanticipated. We examined the relationship between flight altitude and camera focal length on bird identification. We then conducted a post-hoc analysis to examine the effect of flight altitude on bird flushing behavior. We flew UAS missions at three locations in California and Nevada to assess the use of UAS for censusing non-nesting waterbirds. A minimum pixel resolution of approximately 5 mm was needed be able to identify most waterbird species from imagery. Sensors needed to be carefully calibrated in order to obtain images of sufficient quality to identify waterbirds over open water. Our results suggest that gas-powered UAS may result in increased rates of flushing at low flight altitudes for some waterbirds. With careful design of surveys and processing workflow, UAS show promise for censusing and monitoring waterbirds.

Environmental Practice 17: 201–210 (2015)

This study systematically examined environmental effects during and after Dez Dam Reservoir flushing operations. The study focused on potential upstream sources of pollution, sediment concentrations, water-quality parameters, and uses of water downstream of the dam, particularly emphasizing the presence of fish and macroinvertebrates as well as their habitats. The study was conducted from June 16–18, 2003 in the Dez Dam Reservoir, which is located in the southern part of Iran. The Dez Dam Reservoir is facing a serious sedimentation problem, and its dead volume will be quite full in the coming 10 years. Therefore, performing flushing operations through the three irrigation gates of the dam has received much more attention in recent years. The results of this study helped determine the hydraulic conditions that could decrease the negative environmental effects of the Dez Dam Reservoir flushing operations on downstream aquatic conditions.

Environmental Practice 17: 211–232 (2015)

Many factors must be considered by environmental officials tasked with managing pesticides. Several socioeconomic analysis techniques can be used to quantify these issues and help improve management, including the full consideration of alternatives. The most popular and commonly used techniques are Cost-Benefit Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, and additional guidance and reference materials are readily available. Another group of methods, known as Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal, can be more appropriate, faster, and have lower cost to use in developing countries. Finally, qualitative decision making under uncertainty, such as through the use of the Precautionary Principle (not a socioeconomic analysis technique), also can be valuable. The precautionary approach requires that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is not harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking an action. Ideally all of the analytical techniques will need complete and reliable socioeconomic data, though in reality, data are often incomplete and fraught with uncertainties. In these cases, the application of the precautionary principle decision rule may have strong justification. The application of these techniques in several decision contexts for pesticides in developing countries will be discussed.

Environmental Practice 17: 57–68 (2015)

In 2006, Tomas Koontz and Craig Thomas wrote, “If the 20th century was the year of the administration state then the 21st century may be the year of the collaborative state” (Koontz and Thomas, 2006). Koontz and Thomas were correct in one respect—collaborative management has come to be a part of environmental and natural resources decision making at almost every level of government and in almost every subset issue area. The question this essay addresses is: Is this necessarily a good thing? More specifically, are there situations in which collaborative management works well and others in which it should be avoided entirely?

Environmental Practice 17: 156–159 (2015)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study, released in 2014, evaluates strategies to lessen the risk of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species transferring between these ecosystems. Due to the voluminous nature of the report and manner in which the results are presented, however, many important questions remain difficult to answer, such as: How do the costs of the different strategies differ; and How would the costs be distributed across various stakeholders? To help evaluate the results, this article uses the study’s many estimates, considerations of net present value, and other tools to show how the costs of the alternatives differ over a 50-year time period. This information can help inform policymakers about the best way to move forward with a cost-effective strategy to deal with aquatic nuisance species.

Environmental Practice 17: 291–301 (2015)

The Eva Aetas are custodians of a degraded upland environment in Sitio Pita Bayan-bayanan, a small community in the town of Orion, Bataan, the Philippines. Having lived there for seven decades, they have watched their ancestral land decay from a lush forest to barren grassland. Acknowledging the fact that they have played an active role in its degradation, the Eva Aetas have transformed their environmental practices to adapt to their situation. From crop choice to harvesting methods and ethnomedicine, they provide various means to maximize the minimal outputs of grasslands and possibly allow its eventual rehabilitation. The use of development communication and the application of relevant local policies provide the means as to how their current situation could be remedied.

Environmental Practice 17: 69–77 (2015)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and NEPA documents are constantly being assaulted as being too long, too cumbersome, too expensive, taking too long to accomplish, and not successfully accomplishing the goals of NEPA. Over the years, numerous efforts have attempted to reduce the overall cost, time, and size of NEPA documents. Unfortunately, most of these efforts have failed and, in many cases, actually have made things worse.

Lean process management is a tool that can be used to effectively identify opportunities to improve the NEPA process and NEPA documentation in a manner that does not compromise the principles and requirements of NEPA, but allows for more effective and efficient development of NEPA documents. The result can be NEPA documents that are shorter, but overall documentation that is more complete than what is being developed today. The simplified environmental assessment/categorical exclusion template developed for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is an example of what this process can accomplish when Lean is applied to NEPA, and the results are staggering. In the pilot, CDOT achieved a 75% reduction in the size of the document and a 50% reduction in review time. The second project to use the template saw even better results.

Environmental Practice 17: 302–307 (2015)