© USDA Department of Agriculture: John Noll
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A number of other federal laws offer additional protection to wetland environments, depending on the location of the proposed development activity and the responsible agencies.

• The Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies to consult with the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior to ensure that federal actions, including permitting decisions, do not jeopardize listed species or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat.
• The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions.

There are therefore numerous opportunities at various stages of the permitting process to raise the issue of the impact of a federal action or permitting decision on wetlands.