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Wetland Creation and Restoration: Description and Summary of the Literature by Karen Schneller-McDonald, Lee S. Ischinger, and Gregor T. Auble National Ecology Research Center U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4512 McMurray Avenue Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 ABSTRACT.-This report provides a hard copy of the bibliographic information contained in the digital Wetland Creation/Restoration Data Base. One thousand one hundred data base records are included; each of these represents one article, report, or other publication dealing with the creation or restoration of wetlands. Information contained in the data base records is (1) introduced in a description of all fields and keywords, (2) summarized in terms of findings in a set of graphs and tables, and (3) accessible via a cross-referenced index divided into four sections (Location Index, Plant Genus Index, Wetland Type Index, and Subject Index). The Wetland Creation/Restoration (WCR) data base is intended to address the need for additional information pertaining to wetland creation and resto- ration, and the need for better access to existing infor- mation. The WCR data base provides information that can be used for (1) evaluating the success of wetland creation and restoration used as mitigation for wetland loss, (2) establishing consistent criteria for determin- ing wetland creation and restoration success, (3) pro- viding solutions to problems that contribute to cre- ation or restoration failure, and (4) planning and im- plementing wetland creation and restoration projects to improve chances for project success. The following paragraphs provide a brief background for these infor- mation needs. Although. the rate of loss and remaining wetland acreage estimates vary, general trends are apparent: (1) the rate of wetland loss is estimated to be between 300,000 and 458,000 acres per year, and (2) of the orig- inal 215 million acres believed to exist in the contermi- nous United States, only about 95 million acres re- mained in 1987 (Feierabend and Zelazny 1987). According to Tiner (1984), wetland gains have been made in inland ponds and unvegetated wetland flats, while significant losses are reported for palustrine for- ested wetlands, palustrine emergent wetlands, estuarine wetlands, and palustrine scrub-shrub wetlands (Fig. 1). These figures are from the mid-1950's to the mid-1970's and reflect a gain of 2.3 million acres of two wetland types, ponds and inland unvegetated wetland flats. Most of the 2.1 million acres of ponds (largely farm ponds) were created in uplands, although 530,500 acres of for- ested and emergent wetlands were changed to open water. The impressive 2.1-million-acre gain in created wetlands reported by Tiner should not be construed to be the result of any organized wetland conservation effort aimed at in-kind replacement of lost wetland acreage or function. No comparable figures for acreage of created or restored wetlands exist on a national or regional basis. Consequently, the contribution of wet- land creation and restoration activities towards achiev- ing the "no net loss of wetlands" policy goal cannot be accurately assessed. While effective wetland protection involves the preservation of natural wetlands as a first choice, mit- igation for wetland loss has become a significant means for achieving the goal of protection. As defined in the Federal Register (40 C.F.R. Section 1508.20), mitiga- tion includes the following: avoiding impact, minimiz- ing impact, rectifying impact, reducing or eliminating impact, and compensating for impact. Mitigation should occur in a sequence of avoidance of impacts