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Since human occupation, Idaho's wetlands have been valued. Native Americans made annual treks to gather camas and other wetland plant species for food. Later, European settlements often began and grew out from wetlands due to the abundance of wildlife, availability of fuel wood, and proximity of transportation corridors. More recently, wetlands have become valued for their role in water quality protection, storm water control, and ground water protection. However, wetlands have been considered by some to be unproductive ground and some government programs encouraged the development of wetland habitat. It is estimated that since the 1780's, 56% of Idaho's wetlands have been lost. Of the remaining wetlands many have been degraded by hydrologic alteration and impacts to vegetation and soils.
Increasing awareness of the importance of wetlands has resulted in governmental regulations and incentive programs for their protection. Compiling available information is a critical element in identifying wetland protection and enhancement opportunities. Yet, wetlands-related data is housed by numerous agencies and is often difficult to access and apply to management of our wetland resources.
In recognition of the biological significance of Idaho's wetlands, Idaho Conservation Data Center (IDCDC) biologists have conducted field inventories for over 15 years. In 1994 the IDCDC received funding to conduct additional field inventories and integrate wetlands data into the IDCDC's data base. Wetlands related data is compiled at two scales. Broad scale data, based on the National Wetlands Inventory, has been made available for portions of the state in digital format. Fine scale data on biologically significant wetlands or wetland conservation sites includes information on plant associations and special status plant and animal species.
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The data is used to develop watershed-based Wetland Conservation Strategies. This includes summaries of the type and extent of wetlands based on digital National Wetlands Inventory Data, keys to wetland and riparian plant associations, descriptions of selected wetland and riparian plant associations, and description of selected wetland conservation sites in the watersheds. Hard copies of the conservation strategies are distributed to interested parties as they are completed. Additionally, the documents are available online (IDCDC Wetland Publications).
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