- UF’s Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands is leading Florida’s participation in the National Wetland Condition Assessment.
- The center has participated in every assessment since they began in 2011.
- Data collection is largely handled through grueling fieldwork by student researchers and early career scientists.
Researchers at the University of Florida’s Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands are once again leading Florida’s participation in the 2026 National Wetland Condition Assessment, a nationwide survey conducted every five years to assess the ecological health of wetlands across the US.
The Center for Wetlands, directed by David Kaplan, Ph.D., professor in UF’s Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, has participated in every National Wetland Condition Assessment, or NWCA, since the program began in 2011. The center serves as Florida’s field and science partner for implementing the assessment based on its long-standing expertise in wetland science, education and outreach.
The NWCA is a recurring nationwide effort that uses standardized field and laboratory methods to evaluate wetland conditions across the country, allowing scientists to compare results across states and over time.