COLUMBUS — The Army Corps of Engineers says a change in its policy on wetlands will make it easier to comply with former President Bush's 1989 pledge that there would be no net loss of such areas.

        Environmentalists disagree, saying the move encourages developers to destroy marshes, swamps and bogs that serve vital ecological functions.

        The corps last week said it would let developers fill in wetlands if they preserve other existing wetlands or establish buffers of vegetation along streams.

        Federal regulators previously had allowed developers to destroy wetlands in one place if they created substitute wetlands areas elsewhere.

        “We haven't done a good enough job, but we are strongly committed to the "no net loss' policy,” Maj. Gen. Hans Van Winkle, the corps' deputy commander, said.

        “If we can turn this over to professionals on a large scale, I think we can do a better job enhancing the quality and quantity of wetlands.”

        Environmental groups are upset because the corps adopted the policy without a public comment period.

        “I don't know why any developer would try to avoid a wetland if they could just buy some credits in a wetland bank,” said Julie Sibbing of the National Wildlife Federation. “That's not how you achieve the "no net loss' goal.”

        Wetlands cleanse and filter water before it flows into streams and lakes. Once considered to be useless, bug-infested swamps, wetlands now are valued for providing natural flood control and important habitats for birds and other wildlife.

        The corps announced the new policy in response to a National Academy of Sciences study that reviewed hundreds of replacement wetlands. The academy found that some were never started, some were not completed and others failed to provide the benefits of natural wetlands.

        Property owners generally have three options when trying to fill in wetlands: build around the area, buy credits from organizations known as “wetland banks” that preserve other existing areas or attempt to create artificial wetlands on once-dry land.

        Ohio has lost 90 percent of its wetlands. Nationally, the loss of wetlands has slowed, but the academy study found that the “no net loss” goal has not been met.

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