Wetlands Law: A Course Source

Reviewed by William Kleindl, Assistant Research Professor, Montana State University - Bozeman on 1/10/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This is, of course, a wetland law text. However, I would like to have seen a little more depth on wetland science. That is my bias, but I do see these two aspects of wetland studies to be tightly linked.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This subject is fraught with potential bias. The author gives a very even overview of the field.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Wetland law is a shifting field. Always changing, especially over the last administration. It is difficult to keep up with these rapid changes. However, everything up to the last few years is VERY well covered in this book. The author uses links (mostly in lieu of references) to take the reader to sites with more details. Although this is very useful, many of the links are dead. Over the Trump administration, many of these sites were deactivated.

Clarity rating: 5

Well written with supportive summaries of case law.

Consistency rating: 4

Yes, in terms of wetland law. I spend a lot of my research on ecological assessment of wetland structure, function, and services and how these integrate into mitigation. I could see a text like this with a broader overview of this topic.

Modularity rating: 5

Well organized for students of wetland law.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Clearly organized.

Interface rating: 4

As stated there are a few dead links. There is a teacher's guide and chapter tests, but that is only available to members of CALI https://www.cali.org/lesson/16477 which require a fee of $250.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Well written. The author should be commended on his hard work.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I believe this question does not apply. It is US law so it only covers the US. The law and science are, ideally, above race and background? Although that concept could certainly be argued.

Comments

I am very happy that I reviewed this book and I will use sections of it in my wetland classes.

Reviewed by Anthony Snider, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina Wilmington on 5/21/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text has neither an index nor a glossary. The text is searchable, however, and provides a good background on the cases relevant to wetlands jurisdiction in the United States. It covers Leslie Salt Co., the Bayview Decision, SWANCC, and significant nexus, the most relevant cases and concepts in current wetlands oversight. The book provides a good background into the import, relevance, and classification of wetlands using the most current classification schemes in use. Additionally, the book does a good job separating the science from the history of the issue of wetland jurisdiction in the US.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book was carefully written and edited. I did not notice any errors in content. Additionally, the book is very evenhanded in presenting the information and the history of the issues of wetlands loss and protection in the US. The author does so objectively and clearly in a manner that is useful for any instructor covering wetlands oversight. The author does present his opinion on matters, but signals when he is doing so, and provides the rationale for his opinions, enabling the reader to question those opinions and draw his own conclusions.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

As the issues covered in this text are currently in flux, any text must be easily amendable to remain relevant to the topic. This text is structured in such a manner that providing updates will be relatively straightforward and will not disrupt the overall organization of the material.

Clarity rating: 5

The subject matter can be a bit abstruse, but the book does a good job presenting relatively complex concepts in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. I would have not qualm assigning this text to an undergraduate class, even one that did not have training in law. The text also provides exercises to increase understanding of the concepts related in the chapters.

Consistency rating: 5

As the book is treating with legal terms and concepts, consistency is paramount, and the author does a great job maintaining this consistency throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

Rather than just presenting a list of cases in historical order, the author separates the overall history of wetlands jurisdiction from the sequence of cases that determine our present situation. The author is also careful to provide the information on the science behind wetlands function and the benefits provided by wetlands from the case descriptions. This structure is profoundly useful when presenting the issue to undergraduates in particular as it allows a professor to assign background material prior to a discussion of the importance of the current debate.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

In my opinion, it is important that the author starts with the scientific background of the issue, then proceeds with the history of wetlands jurisdiction in the US before undertaking his analysis of case law. This structure provides the necessary framework for students to understand the background informing the decisions reached by courts in the relevant cases presented in the text. The author also does a good job linking the concepts together as he explicates the information. Paragraphs in the text are

Interface rating: 3

I especially like the fact that the author provided a non-linked table of contents as well as an interactive version. The former allows the reader to more quickly asses the overall structure of the book without the distraction of live links. There is a bit of confusion in the live contents in that some items (Research Problem) are presented in blue text as if they were live links, but they do not function as such. Correcting the text to have a consistent representation of live links, or having the text in blue actually serve as links would be more helpful. The other item that would assist students in using the text is a "back" button so that students can easily return to the contents without having to scroll.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar in the text is excellent. The author does a great job complying with the rules of formal, academic prose. He does so without making the work obtuse, which will benefit less-adept readers in some classes.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The present regulatory situation regarding wetland jurisdiction in the US is one of uncertainty, both for developers and for regulators. Given that impacts to wetlands must be either avoided or mitigated, and that these features of the landscape provide critical, if temporary, habitat for migratory waterfowl, the uncertainty over this issue has real economic consequences in the US. Furthermore, the present lack of protection for isolated, non-navigable, intrastate wetlands could imperil many acres of land in the US, which have both biological and cultural significance.

Comments

The author did an excellent job in creating this text. The subject matter is extremely relevant in the field of Environmental Science, as well as in Biology. As the United States continues to wrestle with how much oversight and protection to give to its wetlands resources, having a text such as this will go a long way to promoting a rational, informed discussion of the consequences of changes to the current policy regime. The book is enormously relevant, and timely.