Groundbreaking DUC study reveals wetland drainage and degradation costs Manitobans $15 million per year

Oak Hammock Marsh, MB – (Marketwire – Nov. 7, 2008) – New research
by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has identified that the continued loss
of wetlands in Manitoba is increasing phosphorus loads into Lake
Winnipeg equivalent to dumping 10 semi loads of commercial agricultural
fertilizer or 544,000 bags of lawn fertilizer directly into the lake
every year.

“Never before has DUC’s push to stop the loss of wetlands been so
staunchly supported by research,” says Bob Grant, Manager Provincial
Operations for Ducks Unlimited Canada. “Our results are by far the most
compelling scientific support for the benefits that Manitoba’s wetlands
provide to all Manitobans. In fact, this research has broad application
across Canada and should be taken seriously by all municipal,
provincial and federal governments.”

Up to 70 per cent of wetlands have been lost or degraded in settled
areas of Canada. Grant says this has had exceedingly negative impacts
on Manitoba’s environment.

To demonstrate how the loss of wetlands impacts the environment,
DUC partnered with the University of Guelph and Tarleton State
University, a member of the Texas A&M University system to conduct
a study of the Broughton’s Creek watershed, located in the Rural
Municipality of Blanshard north of Brandon. Lead funding provided by
the Murphy Foundation helped complete the first phase of this
multi-phase project.

The first step of this project determined that 5,921 wetlands or 70
per cent of total wetlands in the Broughton’s Creek watershed have been
lost or degraded due to drainage between 1968 and 2005.

DUC lead researchers Shane Gabor, Pascal Badiou and Lyle Boychuk
scaled up the results from the Broughton’s Creek research to represent
all of southwestern Manitoba, determining that wetland drainage has
caused:

– An increase in phosphorus loads into Lake Winnipeg equivalent to
dumping 10 semi loads of commercial agricultural fertilizer or 544,000
bags of lawn fertilizer directly into the lake every year.

– The release of 5 million tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, the equivalent of putting 169,000 cars on the road for 20 years.

– An increase in area-contributing runoff into Lake Winnipeg of
4,518 square kilometers, the equivalent of 10 times the size of the
City of Winnipeg.

In 2005, nutrient removal and additional carbon released into the
atmosphere as a result of lost wetlands are estimated to have cost
Manitobans $15 million that year. These estimates are based on the
costs associated with removing phosphorous and nitrogen from water and
offsetting carbon emissions.

“Given that the province of Manitoba and the city of Winnipeg are
investing millions of taxpayer dollars to reduce nutrient loading to
Lake Winnipeg and to deal with climate change, stopping the continued
destruction of wetlands should be a top priority,” said Pascal Badiou,
research scientist, for DUC’s Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl
Research. “Maintaining the status quo will significantly reduce the
return on investment of our mitigation dollars. This figure will
increase to $19 million per year by 2020 if wetland drainage or
degradation is not stopped.”

Badiou points out that the costs do not account for the economic
costs of downstream flooding, lost biodiversity, diminished ecotourism,
lost groundwater recharge and the many other ecological functions that
wetlands lose when drained or degraded.

The impacts of wetland drainage and water quality should be of
concern to all Manitobans. Wetland loss impacts our quality of life and
our economic well-being. Providing financial incentives for landowners
and legislated protection that ensures wetland retention and
restoration is needed to prevent further deterioration of Manitoba’s
water resources.

“DUC has 70 years of wetland expertise and experience to assist
governments and stakeholders in the development of a wetland policy
that benefits all Manitobans,” said Grant. “DUC looks forward to
working with the government and agricultural community in developing an
effective wetland policy for Manitoba.”

For more information on the Broughton’s Creek research and facts
about wetland loss in Manitoba, visit the Ducks Unlimited Canada
website at www.ducks.ca or go to: http://www.ducks.ca/aboutduc/news/archives/2008/pdf/081107.pdf

Ducks Unlimited Canada is a private, non-profit organization that
conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for
waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.