Wetlands in Peril

Industrial agriculture is a primary driver of wetland loss in the US Upper Midwest, where 30 million acres of wetlands provide critical flood mitigation and carbon sequestration. The report estimates that these wetlands provide nearly $23 billion in annual residential flood mitigation benefits, with long-term value between $323 billion and $754 billion. Recent legal shifts, specifically the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA, have reduced federal protections under the Clean Water Act, leaving many wetlands vulnerable. The author argues that the next farm bill should expand the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) cap, increase funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and link crop insurance to conservation practices to mitigate flood risk and support environmental justice for marginalized communities.

• Industrial agriculture is the most significant contributor to wetland loss over the last few centuries, with agricultural expansion driving 95 percent of wetland loss in the Prairie Pothole Region between 1997 and 2009.
• In the Upper Midwest, 30 million acres of wetlands generate approximately $22.6 billion in annual residential flood mitigation benefits, with estimated long-term benefits ranging from $323 billion to $754 billion.
• The 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency narrowed the definition of protected wetlands, potentially removing federal safeguards from 19 to nearly 100 percent of nontidal wetlands in the US.
• Wetland degradation disproportionately affects marginalized communities; in Michigan, wetland loss contributes to flooding in predominantly Black and under-resourced neighborhoods, while Latino and older community members in Iowa faced poor recovery outcomes after the 2008 floods.
• Wetlands serve as critical carbon sinks, storing over 30 percent of Earth's soil-stored carbon on only 6 percent of the planet's surface, but their destruction releases methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide.
• The report recommends several specific enhancements for the next farm bill: raising the CRP cap back to 45 million acres, increasing CSP funding from $1 billion to $4 billion annually, and boosting EQIP funding to $2 billion per year for new contracts.

APA

Woods, S. E. (2024). Wetlands in Peril. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/wetlands-full-report.pdf

Chicago

Woods, Stacy E. Wetlands in Peril. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2024. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/wetlands-full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Woods |first1=Stacy E. |title=Wetlands in Peril |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/wetlands-full-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{woods2024wetlands, author = {Woods, Stacy E.}, title = {{Wetlands in Peril}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/wetlands-full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }