Introduction to Wetlands

As a property owner in Box Elder County you may be significantly affected by federal Clean Water Act regulations if any areas of your property can be defined as "Wetlands." The purpose of this newsletter is to help Box Elder County Landowners understand the regulatory definition of wetlands, what wetlands are, what the presence of wetlands means, and how to deal with wetlands. Everyone is in a much better position to make a decision about their property if they have accurate information instead of being forced to rely on hearsay or rumors.

To help property owners deal with wetlands regulations "The Box Elder County Comprehensive Wetland Management Plan" (Plan) was completed and adopted by the County Commission in August of 1999. The Box Elder County Wetland Plan Committee (Committee) was formed and given the assignment of prioritizing and implementing the goals of the Plan. The next several articles will explain more about the Plan and its goals. Since property owners may be significantly impacted by wetlands regulations, a first priority of the Committee was to provide them accurate information about wetlands.

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For those of us living in Box Elder County it is hard to ignore the presence of the Great Salt Lake, with 55 to 60 percent of the Lake located within our County. As a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, the Great Salt Lake has many wetlands spread throughout the old lakebed, wetlands which are often seen as being linked to this landlocked lake.

(Information taken from The Wetland Newsletter, Spring 2001.)