Wetlands law operates at the junction of private property rights and natural resource protection. While wetlands provide rich and diverse species habitat, protecting and promoting water quality, the vast majority of U.S. wetlands are on private property. Federal law addresses wetlands protection and development in a complex manner. Those interested in protecting wetlands or developing wetland property must navigate challenging legal waters.The Wetlands Deskbook organizes wetlands law for the novice and experts. This must-have reference book combines insights from one of the nation's premier wetlands experts and provides all the background materials needed.

This Fourth Edition includes updates on the most recent court decisions, agency policies, and regulations, such as implications for endangered species and the U.S. Department of the Interior mitigation strategies. The authors have also added a new section identifying practical tips and pitfalls in wetlands law.Margaret "e;Peggy"e; Strand is a partner at Venable, LLP in Washington, D.C. Ms. Strand has substantial experience advising on the regulatory requirements of federal and state law, including wetlands, natural resources, protected species, climate change, and pollution control.

She was Chief of the Environmental Defense Section in the U.S. Justice Department, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, from 1984 to 1991, and served as a Justice Department trial attorney and supervisor since 1976. She is past chair of the American Bar Association's Water Quality and Wetlands Committee, Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources Law and serves on the ALI-ABA Advisory Committee on Environmental Law. She is a regular chair and speaker on wetlands and species protection topics for ALI-ABA and other bar organizations.Lowell Rothschild, Senior Counsel at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, is an environmental litigator focusing on natural resource issues such as wetlands, endangered species, and environmental review. For over 20 years, he has represented private, public, governmental and quasi-governmental clients working in the oil and gas, natural resource extraction, and infrastructure development sectors in obtaining and defending permits and responding to allegations of legal noncompliance, through both internal investigations and litigation. Mr.

Rothschild's practice has included cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, multiple federal circuit and district courts, and EPA and Department of the Interior administrative tribunals.