This is a question from the 2003 released test and I hope someone can explain the answer to me, considering I am taking the delayed test next week.
Question 45. A state highway was constructed over wetlands. The state obtained a permit to fill the exiting wetlands in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972, and agreed to create another wetland. This trade-off approach to addressing an environmental issue is known as
A. mitigation
B. restoration
C. preservation
D. remediation
E. sustainability
The answer is A, why not B?
because restoration means you restore something and there is nothing you restore, you just recreate wetlands. it would be restoration if the state created another wetland for nothing, so there’s 2 of them, but here the state “removes” one wetland by building highway over it, so it mitigates the potential damage by creating another wetland somewhere else
If the state had damaged the wetlands during construction of the highway, they could “restore” them to their original condition. In this case, however, the state has filled and eliminated the wetlands in one location and then created another, similar wetlands in another location. The goal here is to “mitigate” the damage to wildlife, drainage, etc. due to the elimination of the first wetland.
Thank you, guys, I get it.