The purpose of this document is to provide scientifically defensible guidance to assist States, Authorized Tribes, Territories, and other authorized jurisdictions--hereafter referred to as States--in assessing the nutrient status of their wetlands, and to provide technical assistance for developing numeric nutrient criteria for wetland systems in an eco-region. The development of nutrient criteria is part of an initiative by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to address the problem of cultural eutrophication, i.e., nutrient pollution caused by human activities (USEPA 1998a). Cultural eutrophication is not new; however, traditional efforts at nutrient control have been only moderately successful. Specifically, efforts to control nutrients in water bodies that have multiple nutrient sources (point and nonpoint sources) have been less effective in providing satisfactory, timely remedies for enrichment-related problems. Development and adoption of numeric criteria into water quality standards aids nitrogen and phosphorus pollution control efforts by providing clear numeric goals for water quality protection.