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WETLAND CONSERVATION ACT PROGRAM OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION/USE OF THE MANUAL Welcome to the Administrative Manual for the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA). Whether you are working with the WCA for the first time, or are a grizzled veteran of WCA administration, we hope that you will find the format and information within this manual helpful and of use to you. Obviously, all applicable laws and rules are the controlling documents for WCA administration. This manual is not intended to provide legal advice, and users of this manual should consult their own legal counsel as and to the extent necessary. This manual has been set up to generally follow the natural progression of activities typically encountered under the WCA. The manual has been separated into three sections: WCA Administration Section, Resource Reference Section, and Technical Reference Section. An index has been provided for each part to ease finding specific items. Wide margins have also been provided in the narrative portions to allow space for notes and references. In addition, you will note that blank and sample forms have been:incorporated with the information for each part, rather than grouped in one"Forms",section;; These forms, along with other miscellaneous information helpful to administration of that:part of the WCA, are found in the appendix to each part of the manual(look for the blue;sheets)..: Regular updates will be made as necessary to keep the Administrative Manual current. A "General Correspondence"tab has been created for filing many of the mailings sent from the BWSR Central Office. Many of the..mailings:will include instructions for discarding and replacing outdated information and forms with the updated inserts. For information on obtaining additional copies of this manual, refer to the MN Assoc. of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD)for address,and ordering information- In addition, corrections for errors noted should be forwarded to the WCA program staff at the BWSR St. Paul office. Included with this manual is the latest WCA Administration Disk, which includes the current version of every form necessary for administration of the WCA. Please dispose of all previous disks with earlier versions of forms(relabel and reuse the disk as you see necessary). As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, contact the BWSR board conservationist (BC) for your area. The BC list can be found in the Resource Reference Section of this manual. A. WETLANDS-A BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON WETLAND ISSUES AND A CHRONOLOGY OF STATE LAWS SINCE 1858 This section contains a brief historical perspective on the wetlands issue, a chronology of the state wetlands law, and short descriptions of recent federal wetland laws. The chronology does not cover judicial case laws. The information brief concludes with short descriptions of recent federal wetland law. A.1 Wetlands have been a major issue throughout Minnesota's history. The debate over the value of wetlands, and their resulting drainage, has been the paramount water Part I-Program Overview April 1997 WCA Administration I- 3