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Wetlands and Agriculture: Private Interests and Public Benefits

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Ralph E. Heimlich, Keith D. Wiebe, Roger Claassen, Dwight Gadsby, and Robert M. House

Agricultural Economics Report No. (AER765) 104 pp, September 1998

Society has recently increased the value it places on the services that wetlands provide, including water quality improvements, flood control, wildlife habitat, and recreation. However, owners of wetlands are often unable to profit from these services because the benefits created are freely enjoyed by many. This report examines differences between public and private incentives regarding wetlands. Federal wetland policy has shifted in recent decades--from encouraging wetland conversion to encouraging wetland protection and restoration--in an effort to balance public and private objectives. The report assesses the need for continued wetlands protection policies as the United States approaches achieving the goal of no net loss of wetlands.

Keywords: wetlands, no net loss, Swampbuster, conservation, restoration

In this report ...

Chapters are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Order this report (stock #ERSAER765)

Updated date: September 1, 1998

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