An Assessment of Wetland Mitigation Practices in Washington State

Of the many issues associated with the Clean Water Act's §404 program, the one debated most often is wetlands mitigation. While mitigation has been readily accepted within the §404 permitting process, various researchers have begun to question the success of mitigation projects. The cries for caution are best summarized by Zedler's (1986) statement that "on a national level, the technology of wetland creation/restoration is experimental and unpredictable."