In Georgia, when it comes to buffer protection for state waters, change is always in the wind and often lands in the middle of somebody's business venture.  In the case of coastal saltwater marshes, buffer protection is dependent upon an interpretation of the state law.  Most agree that buffers for saltwater marshes have been difficult to deal with for land developers and home owners alike, because of the use of something called the "Marsh Jurisdictional Line" which is based more on the presence of salt marsh habitat and not an area of "wrested vegetation".  

Click here or the photo for the most recent letter issued by Judd Turner, Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division that removes the requirement of 25' buffer protection of saltwater marshes when an area of "wrested vegetation" is not present. While wrested vegetation is not defined in the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act (GESA), tens of thousand of certified personnel on in the construction community can tell you that it is defined in the "Field Guide for Determining the Presence of State Waters That Require a Buffer" (Field Guide).  As a matter of fact, over 70,000 people in the land development community in Georgia who have received either a Level 1A Fundamentals, Level 1B Advanced Fundamentals, or Level 2 Introduction to Design certification have learned the definition of Wrested Vegetation, as that being defined on Page 2 in the Field Guide that they receive in their certification course, and that it means the "movement of water that removes soil, debris and vegetation, creating a clear demarcation between water flow and vegetative

 growth" and also that buffers for salt water marshes are measured from the Marsh Jurisdictional Line as determined habitat by employees of the Coastal Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Is it a good decision or a bad one to remove buffer protection of saltwater marshes when there is not an area of wrested vegetation? When does federal protection of saltwater mashes begin?  We all have our opinions about things like this, but one thing we can all agree, is that time will truly tell us if the land and water sacrifices we make today will be good or bad for future of Georgia residents.  I think we should ask China and get their perspective on this issue, now that their Ministry for the Environment has said that it may be too late to recover from the environmental damage they've caused to their land, air and water resources from land development and industrial pollution.  As my mentor from the past, Theodore Roosevelt, puts it......

"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them or to rob by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."