Thirty-six years after the enactment of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and its Sections 301 and 404 program regulating the discharge of dredged and fill material into aquatic systems, it has become glaringly apparent that mitigation has been largely unsuccessful at replacing either the extent or functions of the aquatic resources destroyed or degraded by such discharges. By now, it should be obvious that, wherever possible, avoidance of impacts to existing water resources is the wisest environmental protection policy. Yet in practice, avoidance has received far too much lip service and far too little practical application. Recent agency rules issued to govern mitigation activities continue what can only be described as a “cockeyed optimist” approach to aquatic resources permitting—one that is destined to lead to further deterioration of the nation’s aquatic resource base.