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What are Wetlands at Risk?

Wetlands-at-risk are those that are vulnerable to impacts from development or other land use activities and that have little protection from these impacts through federal, state or local measures. Many states, tribes, and local governments rely solely on the Clean Water Act to protect their wetland resources. Recent court rulings (see SWANNC and Rapanos) have highlighted potential gaps in this protection, prompting state and local governments to inventory their wetlands that may no longer be considered 'jurisdictional' and try to fill in these gaps. Yet, the reality is that even streams and wetlands that are regulated under the Clean Water Act may be at risk of being filled or otherwise impacted for two key reasons:
  1. The Clean Water Act Section 404 is a permitting program under which permits for disposal of dredge or fill material into wetlands are issued all the time. Just because a wetland is regulated under this program does not mean it can never be filled.
  2. The Section 404 program does not regulate all types of activities, such as discharges of stormwater runoff into wetlands, and removal of wetland vegetation.

Given this, in many rapidly developing areas of the country, almost all wetlands can be considered at-risk unless some kind of permanent protective measure (e.g., a conservation easement, protective zoning) is in place to prevent their destruction.

 
Digitize
The process of converting features on a paper map into digital format using a trace methodology, which results in the creation of a spatial dataset.
Ecotone

A transition area between two adjacent, but different plant communities.

Indirect Wetland Impacts
Impact to wetlands caused by inputs of stormwater and pollutants generated by land development or other activities within the wetland CDA.
Direct Wetland Impacts
Wetland loss or degradation resulting from activities that occur within wetlands, such as dredging, filling and draining.  Activities that cause direct impacts are largely regulated through the federal and state wetland permitting process.
Stormwater Treatment Practices

A structural or non-structural practice designed to temporarily store or treat stormwater runoff in order to mitigate flooding, reduce pollution, and provide other amenities (also called a Best Management Practice – BMP).

Hydrogeomorphic
Factors that influence how wetlands function, including geomorphic setting, water source, and hydrodynamics.
Hydrogeomorphic
Factors that influence how wetlands function, including geomorphic setting, water source, and hydrodynamics.
Sinks
A cell or set of spatially connected cells that cannot be assigned flow direction in a raster elevation dataset. This can occur when all neighboring cells are higher than the processing cell or when two cells flow into one another. Sinks can indicate areas where water is likely to pond, but can also be an error in the dataset.
Facultative Wetland Plants
Species that usually occur in wetlands (approximately 67% - 99% probability), but also occur in non-wetland areas (approximately 1% - 33% probability).
Obligate Wetland Plants
Species that occur almost always in wetlands under natural conditions (greater than 99% probability), but which may also occur rarely in non-wetlands (less than 1% probability).
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR)
A radar technique that uses two or more synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to generate surface elevation using differences in the phase of waves returning to the satellite or aircraft.
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR)
A radar technique that uses two or more synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images to generate surface elevation using differences in the phase of waves returning to the satellite or aircraft.
Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

A remote sensing technique that measures properties of pulsed laser light reflected from objects to determine their position, velocity, and other information.

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

A remote sensing technique that measures properties of pulsed laser light reflected from objects to determine their position, velocity, and other information.

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)

A remote sensing technique that measures properties of pulsed laser light reflected from objects to determine their position, velocity, and other information.

Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
A digital file consisting of terrain elevations for ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
A digital file consisting of terrain elevations for ground positions at regularly spaced horizontal intervals.
Hyperspectral Data

Information collected and processed from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectral signatures (unique “fingerprint” left by specific objects) enable identification of materials that make up a scanned object.

Remote Sensing
Gathering and recording information about objects without actual contact through the use of such techniques as photography, infra-red imagery, and radar.
Hydrophytes
A plant that grows wholly or partially submerged in water.
Blackspots
Areas on aerial photos that show up as dark blue, dark grey, or black and are indicative of saturated soil conditions.
Stereoscopic
The ability to see three dimensionally by using two views of a single object from slightly different positions typically through the use of an optical aid known as a stereoscope.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Hydric Soils
Soils that are saturated, flooded, or ponded for a long enough period during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper soil horizons.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A system that integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A system that integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

Digitize
The process of converting features on a paper map into digital format using a trace methodology, which results in the creation of a spatial dataset.
Minimum Mapping Unit

The minimum size or dimensions for features to be mapped as lines or areas for a given map scale.

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