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Wetlands <br />Anoka County is rich in <br />wetland resources with <br />nearly 30% of our land <br />area covered in wetland. <br />Anoka County is also <br />unique in the seven county <br />metro area as the only <br />county with more than <br />50% of its original wetland <br />acreage intact. Figure 12 <br />is the National Wetland <br />Inventory and shows <br />wetlands that fall under MN <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />(DNR) jurisdiction in dark blue and <br />those that fall under the jurisdiction of the <br />Wetland Conservation Act in lighter blue. <br />Lakes are included under DNR jurisdiction. <br />Wetlands have many regulatory protections in <br />recognition of the role they play in maintaining water Figure 12: Wetland <br />quality in our lakes and rivers and attenuating flood fir, Resources <br />waters. The federal government regulates wetlands <br />under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act through <br />the US Army Corps of Engineers and through <br />Swampbuster on agricultural lands. The state regulates larger, permanently ponded <br />wetlands through the DNR and the remaining wetlands through local government units <br />under the Wetland Conservation Act of 1991. <br />Wetlands provide many functions and values to Anoka County residents including water <br />quality, flood control, wildlife habitat and open space. Utilizing wetland characteristics to <br />assimilate nutrients, trap sediment, and attenuate flood waters can result in degradation <br />to the wetland's ecology. It is important to balance the quality of the wetland against the <br />benefits it can provide under active use. Wetland quality and position in the landscape <br />are routinely considered by ACD staff when making management recommendations. <br />To preserve and enhance wetland functions and values in the county, the ACD supports <br />activities which avoid direct and indirect impacts, restore wetlands for flood control and <br />water quality treatment, provide buffer strips around wetlands basins, replace losses in <br />the same watershed or where most needed, avoid natural community wetlands, and <br />restore wetland plant communities for habitat. <br />Anoka Conservation District Comprehensive Plan October 2014 page 19 <br />