Wise management of coastal resources depends in part on the maintenance and preservation of healthy wetland ecosystems. The water storage and purification function of wetlands as well as the nutrient contribution to aquatic organisms is well documented. Wetland management decisions are dependent upon timely, accurate information such as location, size and value of major wetlands and identification of areas significantly affected by man\u27s activities. ERTS-1 (Earth Resources Technology Satellite) data provides repetitive\u27 synoptic coverage for analysis of wetland ecology, detection of change, and mapping or inventory of wetland boundaries and plant communities. ERTS-1 positive transparencies of Atlantic Coastal wetlands were enlarged to different scales and maps were made using a variety of methods. Results of analysis of imagery and digital data indicate: (1) mapping of wetland boundaries and vegetative communities from imagery at a scale of 1:1,000,000 is impractical because small details are difficult to illustrate; (2) mapping to a scale of 1:250,000 is practical for defining land-water interface, upper wetland boundary, gross vegetative communities, and soil disposal/dredge and fill operations; (3) 1:125,000 enlargements provide additional information on transition zones, smaller plant communities, and drainage or mosquito ditching; (4) ERTS digital data can be used for mapping at a scale of approximately 1:20,000
