As the world continues to remember the late President George Herbert Walker Bush and to celebrate his life, it has been difficult for historians and journalists to list all the many accomplishments of his one-term Administration.

The Bush legacy will include important environmental achievements for water and air.

The vital directive first adopted by George HW Bush and the U.S. Congress, instructing the U.S. Army Corps to pursue the goal of “no overall net loss” for the nation’s water resources (Section 307, Water Resources Development Act 1990) remains the backbone of the permitting program under the Clean Water Act through today.

This graphic timeline traces the origins of wetland permitting and wetland mitigation in the United States from the original 1890s River and Harbors Act and concludes with the 2008 Mitigation Rule (importantly adopted during the George W. Bush Administration).