Authenticity: Evaluation of Created Freshwater Wetlands in Massachusetts

Under certain circumstances, the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and Regulations (310 CMR 10.00) allow the filling of freshwater wetlands when coupled with mitigation strategies involving wetlands creation. Since the regulatory revisions of 1983, approximately 1,000 wetlands creation projects, averaging 3,500 square feet (340 square meters) in size, have been completed in Massachusetts (Dobberteen, 1990). Despite the abundance of these small, created wetlands, there is, unfortunately, little data concerning the performance of these systems. Lelito Environmental Consultants (LEC) has been involved in wetlands creation projects since 1987. LEC has recently undertaken a monitoring program to explore the effectiveness of different wetland creation techniques, and to evaluate the types of wetland communities established through these techniques. "Success" of a created wetlands project is defined under the Massachusetts regulations by establishment of 75 percent cover of indigenous wetland vegetation within two growing seasons. The regulations require that created wetlands must be at least the same size, at the same elevation, and bordering on the same wetland system as the lost wetland areas. Although the regulations presume that the functioning of the created wetlands will be similar to that of the lost areas once vegetation is established, no functional analysis of the created wetlands is required. As a result, when wetlands replacement areas are being created in Massachusetts, primary emphasis is usually given to the rapid establishment of vegetative cover. In addition, since the regulations contain specific limits on the amount of wetland that can be filled [generally 5,000 square feet (490 square meters)], a significant portion of the original wetland typically remains for comparison with the created area. LEC has designed over 35 wetland creation plans, and has been directly involved in the construction of at least 15 of these projects. During the summer of 1990, LEC initiated an ecological monitoring program for six created