Last year, presidential candidate Donald Trump sailed to victory with his election slogan “Drain the Swamp.” Arguably, he wanted to end the unethical practices in the nation’s capital. However, his proposed 2018 budget is threatening a –the swamps and wetlands of the United States.

Historically, wetlands were considered to be a hindrance to development. However, in mid-nineteenth century the attitude changed, and the government started to recognize the benefits of conserving wetlands. In 1972, the Clean Water Act (CWA) was passed marking a major step towards conserving wetlands. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed an Executive Order that required federal agencies to avoid impacts to wetlands. The United

Five federal agencies are primarily responsible for regulating wetlands. Each agency has a different mission to regulate different aspects of wetland protection. The duties of the Department of Defense U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are related to navigation and water supply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensures the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters are protected. The Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) authorities oversee fish and wildlife-game species and threatened and endangered species. The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages the Nation’s coastal resources and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) focuses on wetlands affected by agricultural activities.

President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget outlined an unprecedented cut to budget funding related to wetland protection. President Trump proposed to slash the overall FWS budget by 14 percent, including a 12 percent budget reduction in the Wetland Conservation Fund.

These budget cuts pose a significant risk to the country’s wetlands and swamps. Coastal wetlands  protection against incoming hurricane storm surges. On average, more than 80,000 acres of coastal wetlands are lost every year. Slashing the budget for the Coastal Management Fund would accelerate this trend. The EPA budget cuts toxic cleanup and waterway restoration projects which pose serious environmental and public health risks. Reducing the Wetland Conservation Fund affects the restoration of wetlands, disrupting the services that wetlands provide, including the feeding of downstream waters, trapping of floodwaters, recharging of groundwater supplies, removal of pollution, and the quality of fish and wildlife habitats. While President Trump promised to drain a political swamp, the real swamps he plans to drain will have negative repercussions for the country’s ecosystems, biodiversity, and public health.

By: Roshni Ghosh