Two years ago, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and the N.C. General Assembly dealt a one-two punch to rules that protect North Carolina's wetlands from development and other threats. It was an incredibly short-sighted move in a state where wetlands are critical to our health and our safety.
As we explained in a webinar in May, wetlands protect North Carolina, and that's why North Carolina regulations must protect wetlands. Clean water, flood control, wildlife, fisheries, and much more depend on intact wetlands across our state.
"If we don't protect our wetlands, we can't protect our water. If we don't protect our wetlands, we can't save our fisheries. And as you've seen from the catastrophic flooding from Helene and other storms, if we don't protect our wetlands, we can't protect ourselves." – Erin Carey, NC Sierra Club conservation policy director.
State regulators are obliged to enshrine the reduced protections mandated by the legislature in 2023. But that's not the end of our fight - and we need you to add your voice.
Use this form to contact your state legislators and demand that they restore protections to North Carolina's precious, irreplaceable wetlands.
Be sure to add a personal message! Policymakers are much more likely to act when you tell them why wetlands are important to you as an individual constituent. Here are some ideas for points you can highlight:
- Flooding: Wetlands act like sponges, absorbing water to help slow and lower floodwaters. A single acre of wetlands can store about a million gallons of water, helping flood-prone communities nearby and downstream.
- Have you experienced flooding? Are you at heightened risk if wetlands are developed near you? Describe how you, your neighbors, and businesses in your community will be endangered if wetlands protections are diminished.
- Insurance: Insurers are starting to increase rates and even deny coverage to homeowners and businesses in flood-prone areas.
- How will higher insurance premiums hit you, your employer and your neighbors? Do you risk losing flood insurance entirely?
- Water Quality: Wetlands filter and clean drinking water and allow water to slowly filter into the ground to replenish aquifers.
- Whether you get your water from a well or a municipal supplier, the source groundwater will be more polluted and aquifers may be depleted if wetlands are developed.
- Fishing, hunting, tourism: North Carolina’s wild-caught seafood industry contributes nearly $300 million in value and 5,500 jobs to the state’s economy. Wetlands are home to waterfowl and other wildlife that draw tourists and hunters from all over. Rural areas may benefit financially all year long from visitors during hunting, migration and other peak seasons.
- Do you or your friends work in commercial or recreational fishing? Do you enjoy hunting, fishing, eating seafood or watching wildlife? Describe how destroying wetlands will diminish those businesses, tourism, and recreation.
- Irresponsible Development: Developers who wanted to build on land containing wetlands were able to get permits under the current system, they just had to take steps to avoid or mitigate harm caused by their projects. The revised definition will allow many such projects to proceed without permits.
- If you've seen worsened floods or water quality, observed harm to wildlife or other natural features thanks to development of wetlands, describe your experience.
- Government funding and state control: North Carolina sets aside tens of millions of dollars to help local governments prepare for and recover from floods. Tying North Carolina law to federal wetlands rules will expose us to constant shifts in regulatory definitions that may have no bearing on our state's needs.
- Wetlands are disappearing three times faster than forests. The Cape Fear watershed in eastern North Carolina is experiencing one of the nation’s highest rates of wetland loss. Federal protections often don't include unique N.C. wetlands, such as Carolina bays, pocosins, and cypress savannas.
