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I <br />The Riparian Inventory <br />Chris Pague and Nancy Fishbein of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) described <br />the Natural Heritage Program. There are 85 programs throughout the world. <br />A Biological Conservation Data System has been developed to rank the <br />degree of imperilment of species by ranking their levels of rareness by <br />geographical regions. The date base is fed by historical data, current field <br />checks, and new information and sitings. Conservation and research <br />priorities are to be set by TNC using the database.. <br />Riparian plant community classifications /inventories are going on in a <br />number of states, in addition to the Natural Heritage Programs. This kind of <br />scientific information is available to legislators, city planners and others.. A <br />new Colorado statewide wetlands inventory should make use of systems that <br />are already in place as much as possible. <br />Peter Evans noted that he has the impression that the primary value of <br />TNC's method is to address biodiversity. Can values such as wildlife habitat, <br />flood control, and water quality functions of wetlands also be worked into <br />such a system? Considerable discussion ensued about the complexities of <br />integrating wetland functions into a classification system. <br />Chris Pague asked if the state would make use of existing U.S. Fish & Wildlife <br />Service inventories, if a state wetlands inventory was undertaken. How long <br />can Colorado wait for an update of that inventory? Mike Hart stressed that <br />you have to discuss the. criteria that should be used in classifying Colorado's <br />wetlands. We need to be specific about Colorado's wetland types and their <br />functions to really have a useful system. The USFWS system does not extend <br />to plant associations, as TNC's system does. <br />Chris Pague observed that we tell people why we want them to preserve <br />wetlands (because their are laws that require it). It is harder to explain to <br />them the reasons for those laws -- that they may be personally and <br />economically impacted by the loss of wetlands. The educational piece is very <br />important in closing this gap in understanding. <br />Peter Evans emphasized, the importance of DNR and TNC working together <br />to identify correlations between methods used in the Colorado riparian <br />inventory, the Natural Heritage Program and the potential needs of the State <br />of Colorado for a statewide wetlands inventory. Any new system has to <br />interface well with existing information. The Colorado community is very <br />divided about what we should do with wetlands and the protection of <br />property rights. The command and control approach to wetlands protection <br />exhibited by the federal government will not fly on the local level. How can <br />we overcome the perceived threat of wetlands classification systems in <br />Colorado? <br />Don Smith suggested that the workshops should address the issue of <br />wetlands inventory for the state of Colorado.. The workshops need to get at <br />Page 2 <br />