Every so often OSM US hears from a community of mappers and data users that their area of OpenStreetMap needs more attention in the United States. This has borne some fantastic and ongoing projects, like the Trails Stewardship Initiative and Pedestrian Working Group, that coalesce a diverse array of stakeholders to make the map better.
OSM US was recently contacted by our friends at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), an organization committed to developing policies to protect and strengthen our natural ecosystems, about a potential solution to the currently convoluted state of wetland data in the US. In their recent blog post, they explain the timeliness of this project and its intended goals:
When it comes to finding wetlands.. the data are old, and in some cases, also hasn’t been updated since the 1970s or 80s. But wetlands are the most productive ecosystems on Earth — storing more carbon than forests, hosting greater biodiversity than tropical rainforests, and providing over $30 trillion annually in ecosystem services including flood control, water filtration, and storm surge protection for vulnerable communities. As very dynamic landscapes, having out-of-date wetland maps has resulted in an inability to understand the pace and scale of changes in wetlands and decision-making based on incomplete information. In other words, it’s hard to protect, restore, and avoid impacts to wetlands when we don’t know where they currently are…
To address this problem, EPIC and over 50 partners from over 30 different organizations have been meeting regularly to discuss improvements to the wetland data landscape. From our discussions, we have identified the need for an OpenWetlandsMap. Leveraging the OpenStreetMap framework, this will be an openly accessible and community-maintained dataset of on-the-ground observations of wetlands in the United States. This map will be designed in collaboration with OpenStreetMap US in a pilot location and with input from a diverse community of experts to capture the nuance of wetlands across different landscapes.
, Data Scientist
Continue reading EPIC’s blog post.
We’re excited to collaborate on this project with EPIC and highlight the power of open data in the environmental conservation space – stay tuned for more news about OpenWetlandsMap!
Get Involved
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Fill out this form to provide your priorities and feedback for OpenWetlandsMap.
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Visit with the EPIC team at State of the Map US 2026 at a workshop about OpenWetlandsMap on Thursday June 11th, with a follow-up talk on Friday June 12th.
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Register for our upcoming virtual Mappy Hour with EPIC on July 22.
