The states of Delaware and Maryland are cooperating to investigate and evaluate wetlands of the Nanticoke River watershed. They are collecting data on reference wetlands to gain information on wetland functions and levels of performance for evaluating impacts to presentday wetlands and to develop a watershed-based strategy for wetland conservation and restoration. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is assisting the states in several ways. Roughly two years ago, the states provided funds to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the current National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) digital data to include hydrogeomorphic-type descriptors (i.e., landscape position, landform, and water flow path) to all mapped wetlands and to use these data to produce a preliminary assessment of wetland functions for the watershed. The results of this analysis were published in two watershed-based reports on the Nanticoke wetlands, one for Maryland and the other for Delaware (Tiner et al. 2000, 2001).