National Wetlands Coalition

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National Wetlands Coalition (NWC) was founded in 1989 to oppose U.S. wetlands policy. It argued that while protecting wetlands, the government imposes burdensome rules on private property that don’t match the benefits of high-value wetlands. Time magazine called it “a big-biz coalition against wetlands.” By 1995, about 60 municipal associations, utilities, and large industrial companies—such as Exxon, Texaco, and Kerr-McGee—were part of the group.

The coalition has been described as an astroturf organization: it presents itself as a grassroots effort but is largely funded by corporate interests to push their agenda, often keeping the backers hidden. A University of Oklahoma study used NWC as an example to examine corporate front groups that disguise their true purposes. The study found such campaigns can shape public opinion and weaken support for federal wetlands regulation. The organization has been mostly inactive since the late 1990s; its website was reportedly being reworked from 2001 to 2005 and went offline in 2005.