"This is the greatest overall decline in the rate of wetlands loss since records have been compiled by the federal government," Glickman said. "While we celebrate this tremendous progress, we have not yet met our goal of no ne loss, so we need to be sure that we continue our efforts to protect the environment and be careful not to move backward."

The report by the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997, shows the rate of wetland loss in the United States has decreased to an estimated annual loss of 58,500 acres. This is an 80 percent reduction compared to the previous decade.