Just In Time for Spring
Effective May 1, 2016, wetland delineators should be using the most updated National Wetland Plant List (NWPL). What does this mean and why is it important?
First of all, you may have heard wetlands need to have the Big Three parameters to be considered a "wetland": a predominance of wetland plants (hydrophytes), wetland soils (hydric soils), and inundation or saturation conditions (wetland hydrology). I highlighted the predominance because in addition to the amount of a plant at at site, you may not know that each species is given a wetness indicator:
OBL = Obligate, almost always found in wetlands
FACW = Facultative Wet, mostly found in wetlands
FAC = Facultative, can be found both in and out of wetlands
FACU = Facultative Upland, mostly found in uplands (careful, saying FAC-U can get you in trouble with the regulators!)
UPL = Upland, almost always found in uplands
For example, cattails are given an OBL rating since you do not find this plant living in anywhere but very wet conditions. So you must have a predominance of plants that have wetness status of FAC or wetter. So who gets to make this all important decision on plant species?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers the NWPL (it used to be administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was not very updated). Today, the USACE updates the National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) through a consultation process and voting by academics and practitioners. The participants in the NWPL updating process worked online to assign wetland ratings and make comments as needed for individual taxa. The public was able to see these interactions and could participate during the Federal Register process in assigning wetland ratings.
The NWPL (and the information implied by its wetland plant species status ratings) is used extensively in wetland delineation, wetland restoration and research, and the development of compensatory mitigation goals, as well as in providing general botanical information about wetland plants. The NWPL covers all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Caribbean and Pacific islands that are considered to be territories of the U.S.
