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Colorado Wetland Policy Options Assessment Presentation to the Colorado Water Workshop Western State College July 23, 1991 Page 3 a sponge to absorb water during peak flows and release it slowly over a longer period of time. Due to the scarcity of wetlands in Colorado, their capacity to reduce or prevent flood related damage to private property is probably not significant, except perhaps in isolated areas. Nonetheless, a wetlands storage capacity may prove of great value as a source of drinking water for livestock and wildlife during the summer and fall, when stream flow is otherwise low or nonexistent 'in many areas of the state. As a result of the temporary water storage capacity, wetlands can also enhance ground water recharge when they are located within the recharge area for a given aquifer. However, the potential for most wetlands to recharge ground water is probably limited. In fact, wetlands are more frequently associated with ground water discharge, i.e., springs and seeps. Stream Bank Stabilization. Many of Colorado's wetlands are located within stream channels and flood plains, where they tend to reduce erosion as a result of their being rooted to the underlying soils. The stabilization of lake and reservoir shorelines can also be enhanced by the presence of a wetland. A national wetlands policy is forming, and it will affect the way we do business in Colorado. Over the past 20 years, the federal government has expanded its regulatory directives and authority with respect to the protection of wetlands and many other attributes of our physical environment. To the extent that states have also enacted wetland or other environmental protection programs, their initiatives have been vastly overshadowed by those of the Congress and various federal agencies. The federal efforts to protect wetlands were already substantial when President Bush included his now-famous "No Net Loss goal" among campaign promises he made during his 1988 bid for the White House. Since that time, the President's Domestic Policy Council has established a task force to examine the implications of that goal and recommend a course of action for its implementation. At this point, there is no indication that the No Net Loss goal will be abandoned, and there is only speculation regarding the recommendations which the task force will produce. However, it is virtually certain that existing federal programs have significantly affected many important aspects of the way we do business in Colorado, including the