In April 2010, the B.P. owned Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf through several complex system failures. ASWM has been tracking news of the spill's impact on coastal wetlands in the Gulf. If you're looking for Gulf oil spill news stories, click here. Below find information on clean-up and restoration activities in the wake of the Gulf oil spill as well as links to federal agencies and organizations that are handling the restoration of coastal wetlands in the Gulf.

Latest Gulf Oil Spill News here (2012)

Wetland managers face a new set of challenges when addressing the impacts from global climate change. From wetlands protection to management, there are many new and emerging factors included in a growing body of knowledge about climate change and its effects on wetlands. Sea level rise, carbon sequestration, methane and invasive species are among the many topics in recent discussions about wetlands and climate change. It is ASWM's goal to facilitate a working dialogue and to establish an informative resource on this ever-increasingly important topic.

Scientists Conducting Research/Research Opportunities

Links and Resources

Blogs on Wetlands and Climate Change

ASWM Partners to Create Wetland Mapping Consortium (WMC):

The WMC is an interdisciplinary group of wetland scientists and managers interested in mapping and monitoring wetlands with remotely sensed images and/or using the resultant products to best manage wetland resources. It was established in fall 2008. For more information on this  group, please view or download this PDF file.

Wetland Mapping Consortium Website

Using the Wetland Mapping Consortium (WMC) Scholar Site

(June 29, 2011) PDF available for download or viewing here.

Wetland Mapping Consortium Organizational Webinar

To view in PDF, click here.

Wetlands Classification Image Gallery

PDF available for download or viewing here.

Sea level rise is a phenomenon associated with global climate change. As sea temperatures rise a few degrees, large ice sheets melt in Arctic waters, causing the sea level to rise in a range of 1-3 inches along coasts throughout the world. There are many hypotheses about projected sea level rise and its potential impacts on coastal wetlands. ASWM keeps a finger on the pulse of ongoing research in this developing area of wetland science and policy. For sea level rise-related tools, such as videos, webinars, models, training opportunities to use those tools, click here.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has measured wetland losses for half a century and subsequently produced periodic Status and Trends studies on the nation's wetlands. These reports are based on a statistical sampling of the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps that focus on wetland acreage. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is underway with a national wetlands condition assessment. States and tribes also conduct wetland assessments--and have developed a number of tools for assessment, such as Rapid Assessment Methods (RAM), criteria for determining functions, values, ecosystem services; and ecological integrity assessments, using biological indicators. Local governments and nonprofit organizations may employ similar and other wetland assessment methods specific to their locality.

Adaptation is a term that refers to a type of climate change mitigation. When applied to wetlands, adaptation refers to the actions pertaining to wetland processes, wetland management practices, or wetland functions to reduce or offset potential adverse impacts of climate change. State and federal government agencies have begun to explore and adopt adaptation strategies as part of their climate change action plans, or goals for future actions. For example, states may be looking at ways to incorporate climate change adaptation into their wetlands protection program, with some overlapping goals in both regulatory and resource management areas. Adaptation strategies for coastal and freshwater wetlands are explored in ASWM's Recommendations for a National Wetlands and Climate Change Initiative paper (2009).

ASWM's State Wetland Climate Change Adaptation Summaries (2010) is posted here.

For a list Climate Change Adaptation Resources, click here.

In different parts of the U.S., vernal pools, which are seasonal wetlands, appear differently in the environment. They are characteristically seasonal depressional wetlands that fill up with water in the spring after snowmelt and spring rains. Wood frogs, spotted salamanders and blue spotted salamanders, fairy shrimp are a few of the species known to occur in vernal pools. These frogs can be heard in the springtime (known locally as "peepers" in some areas) when they are calling to their mates in vernal pools. After they spawn, the frogs and salamanders leave the vernal pools and go to upland areas, sometimes miles away from the pool. Vernal pools present a unique opportunity for teaching kids and the public about the importance of wetlands, as they hold flood waters, improve water quality in the watershed and provide unique habitat for those species that require the protection of vernal pools to breed. Vernal pools dry out during the summer so it is easiest to find them during spring.

There is a growing area of science and technology that wetland managers and scientists are using to better understand the impact of sea level rise on coastal wetlands. Here are tools of the trade: webinars, videos, climate change/sea level rise models, modules, toolkits and training opportunities on how to use these tools.