Case Studies in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism

Wetlands Mitigation Banking: Florida Wetlandsbank.

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Schedule

Session 1: Wetlands Mitigation Banking.

Session 2: Case Study: Florida Wetlands Bank.

Session 3: Guest Scientist: Peter LeTourneau, L-DEO.

Questions to Ponder and Discuss

• The Costanza et al. Article in Nature, and its supporting material on the Web, are full of provocative ideas, and dense with information. How might you extract a story from this article for a popular audience. As in the case of your weekly story ideas, cast your answer in terms of a story for a specific publication or broadcast.
• In "Point/Counterpoint: Two Perspectives on Mitigation Banking", which side do you think is more rhetorically convincing? And why?
• What audience is George Laycock's 1990 Audubon article aimed at? How does his rhetorical strategy differ from that of Bruce Selcraig in his 1996 Sierra article. Which do you judge to be the better piece, and why?
• Wetlands have undergone a face left, from the days of my childhood when they were noxious, mosquito-bearing swamps or marches, to the present, when they are heroic providers of ecosystem services. Find an example of a popular article that contributed effectively to this process of persuading/educating the public that wetlands are good rather than bad. What strategies or devices did the author use to make this point?
• David Rosenbaum's 1995 article in Engineering News-Record contains this quotation about mitigation banking: "I've heard consultants say there's no science. It's all guesswork". Study the quotation, its context, and the rest of the article. What point do you think Rosenbaum was trying to make by using this quote? What might Arthur Feinstein (the quotee) have meant by this comment?
• Critique the 1996 Charleston Post & Courier article by Lynn Langley.
• Find an example of an article which did a good job of explaining what wetlands mitigation banking is, and presenting a balanced presentation of pros and cons.
• Now, find an example of a seriously unbalanced article, which presents a lop-sided view.
• Many of the lop-sided view articles achieve their imbalance through the quotes that dominantly support a pro-mitigation-banking or an anti-mitigation banking position. Find an example where the authors own word choice subtley steers the reader towards one or the other position.
• How is Lew Lautin (head of Florida Wetlandsbank) portrayed?
• Journalists often seek controversy as a centerpiece for their articles. Find an example, from the Florida Wetlandsbank section, of an article that uses this approach as well.
• Look at the article called "Restoration Programs in the Everglades" from the Florida International University website. Who do you think are the intended audience for this article? What device does the author use to reach this audience? This article illustrates some disadvantages of the WWWeb relative to conventional publications; what?
• From within the Florida Wetlandsbank articles, find examples of stories with strong, effective leads. Why are these examples effective?
• Critique the Palm beach Post article by William Howard, 25 March 1996.
• Of the Newspaper articles covering wetlands mitigation banking in Florida, which do you think is the best? Why?
• On June 25, 1997, PR Newswire distributed a story called "Plans Announced for 2,775 acre Wetlands Mitigation Bank in Collier Companies". Today's Florida Environmental News, and the Florida Specifier based stories on the wire service report. What do you think of their coverage? What would you have done if you had been reporting for a local newspaper and had been handed this wire service report and assigned this story?
• Think of a story idea for covering wetlands mitigation banking that hasn't been exploited in any of the articles we have read so far?

Readings

Background information:

Pimm, S. L. (1997). "News & Views: The value of everything." Nature: 231-232.

Costanza, R., R. d'Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farber, M. Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R. O'Neill, J. Paruelo, R. Raskin, P. Sutton, M. van den Belt. (1997a). "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital." Nature 387: 253-259 (plus footnotes extracted from the supplement on the Web site).

Excerpts from the House of Representatives, HR 1330: bill. (1993). To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a comprehensive program for conserving and managing wetlands in the United States.

McElfish, J. M. J. and S. Nicholas, Eds. (1996). Structure and Experience of Wetland Mitigation Banks. In: L. L. Marsh, D. R. Porter and D. A. Salvesen (Ed.) Mitigation Banking: Theory and Practice. Washington DC, Island Press, pp. 15-36.

Albrecht, V., M. Wenzel, J. Gold-Man-Carter, G. McCallie (1996). Point/Counterpoint: Two Perspectives on Mitigation Banking. In: L. L. Marsh, D. R. Porter and D. A. Salvesen (Ed.) Mitigation Banking: Theory and Practice. Washington DC, Island Press, pp. 15-36.

Technical Article: Wetlands Mitigation.

Gosselink, J. G., G. P. Shaffer, L. C. Lee, D. M. Burdick, D. L. Childers, , N. C. Leibowitz, S. C. Hamilton, R. Boumans, D. Cushman, S. Fields, M. Koch, J. M. Visser. (1990). "Landscape conservation in a forested wetland watershed: can we manage cumulative impacts?" BioScience 40: 588-600.

Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink (1993). Wetland construction principles and goals. Wetlands. New York, International Thomson Publishing, p. 586-615.

Zedler, J. B., G. D. Wlliams, J. S. Desmond. (1997). "Wetland Mitigation: Can fishes distinguish between natural and constructed wetlands?" Fisheries 22: 26-28.

Popular and Quasi-Popular Articles: Wetlands Mitigation.

Laycock, G. (1990). "How to Save a Wetland." Audubon 92: 96-101.

Braile, R. (1990). Wetlands 'bank' proposed to solve mitigation roadblock. Boston Globe. Boston: 3:1, Nov. 11, 1990.

Mehler, N. H. (1991). Plan seeks to save DuPage wetlands. Chicago Tribune. Chicago: 2D, May 1, 1991.

Pierre, R. (1993). Banking on their future. Washington Post, MDP, 1:2, Jul. 22, 1993.

Pierre, R. (1993). As ecological value is documented state is banking on their future. Washington Post MDM, 5:1, July 29, 1993.

Lochhead, C. (1993). Clinton's wetland's proposal remarkably similar to Wilson's. San Francisco Chronical, A4, Final Edition, Aug. 25, 1993.

Salvesen, D. (1995). "Banking on Wetlands." Planning 61(Feb. 1995): 11-15.

Lehman, H. J. (1994). "Banking on wetlands." Builder 17(March): 56-57.

Rosenbaum, D. B. and P. Rosta (1995). "Mitigation banks threatened." Engineering News-Record 235: 18.

anon (1995). "Agencies Introduce Wetlands-Mitigation Banking." Safety & Health 152(6): 16.

Langley, L. (1996). Lowcountry banking on wetlands. The Post & Courier, B1, March 27, 1996.

King, R. J. (1996). State plans to help both wetlands and development. Detroit News, Business Section 1, May 3, 1996.

Selcraig, B. (1996). "what is a wetland?" Sierra 81: 44-49 (May/June 1996).

anon (1996). Builders and regulators find something they can agree on. Columbus Dispatch, K1, October 13, 1996.

Quasi-Technical Article: Florida Wetlandsbank.

Redmond, A., T. Bates, F. Bernadino, R. M. Rhodes, (1996). State Mitigation Banking Programs: The Florida Experience. In: L. L. Marsh, D. R. Portca, and D. A. Salneson (ed.), Mitigation Banking. Washington, D.C., Urban Land Institute, Island Press, 54-75.

Popular Articles: Florida Wetlandsbank

East, J. (1991). Wetlands Washout. St. Petersburg Times, D1, Sunday edition, Feb. 24, 1991.

staff (1994). Banking on a promise to save wetlands. Wall Street Journal, B1, April 22, 1994.

Maines, J. (1995). Utility hoping to raise interest in wetlands banking. Sun-Sentinel, B4, March 23, 1995.

Bergsman, S. (1995). A way to compensate for building in the wetlands. New York Times, B9:1, May 14, 1995.

Howard, W. (1996). Pioneer investor seeds profit in wetlands creation. The Palm Beach Post, A1, March 25, 1996.

anon (1996). "commercial wetlands hits milestones." Civil Engineering 12-14(April 1996).

Liebesman, L. and D. Plott (1996). "Assessing private wetlands mitigation banking." Urban Land 55: 31-35 and 62.

Fulton, W. (1996). "The big green bazaar." Governing Magazine 38(June 1996).

Quintana, C. (1996). Converted acreage is money to Ecobank; Wetlands restoration earns credit 'banks' can sell to developers. The Orlando Sentinel, 12, August 1996.

editors (1997). Pull plug on this idea. Palm Beach Post, A1, Jan. 25, 1997.

Scott, M. (1997). You can save wetlands in banks, too. The Palm beach Post, A11, March 22, 1997.

anon (1997). Plans announced for 2,775-acre wetlands mitigation bank in Collier County; Major joint venture includes Florida Wetlands and Barron Collier Companies. PR Newswire, June 25, 1997.

anon (1997). New mitigation bank slated next to Corkscrew Swamp, Today's Florida Environmental News. June 26, 1997.

anon (1997). Florida Wetlandsbank's success leads wetlands mitigation banking's national surge. Environbiz: Internaitonal environmental information network, June 27, 1997.

Staff (1997). "Florida Wetlandsbank plans next project near Corkscrew Swamp, Florida." Florida Specifier(July 1997).

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