Balancing economic growth and environmental protection is not easy. Consider wetlands, which provide flood protection, aid water quality, and are linchpins of larger ecosystems. How can we best preserve wetlands while enhancing economic activity?  According to a new study, one solution involves supplanting traditional conservation mandates, which require replacing affected wetlands locally, with tradeable offsets. Through this system, a developer can build on a wetland by purchasing credits representing an equivalent environmental value created by improving a wetland somewhere else in the same watershed, away from concentrated development. … The scholars say it would provide a better way of balancing wetlands preservation and economic gains, while lowering flood risk.

Other wetland news:

• Audubon California: Blog: Tiny tags, one million tricolored blackbird detections, and new clues for conservation