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DEVELOPING A LANDSCAPE APPROACH TO EVALUATION OF WETLAND CONDITION IN THE SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS: PHASE II.
Impact/Purpose:
GENERIC RARE OBJECTIVE: The Regional Applied Research Effort (RARE) provides the Regions with a mechanism to address near term research needs through an ORD Laboratory/Center. Any applied research project that a Region identifies and that an ORD laboratory has the expertise to carry out will be considered if the three following conditions are met: 1) projects must be funded through an ORD Laboratory or Center, 2) the project must fall within with defined mission of the selected ORD Laboratory/Center, and 3) proposals must be research-oriented.
Research was conducted to test the efficacy of a field-based, rapid assessment method for evaluating site suitability for wetland restoration, including compensatory mitigation. The field method is linked to completion of a wetland landscape profile for the project area.
Description:
This proposal details a project whose goal is to develop a rapid assessment tool for determining the success of compensatory wetland mitigation within a hydrogeomorphic framework. Phase I of this program, currently in progress and funded through FY 2000 RARE funds, is developing the method of "wetland profiling", a tool for the quantification of cumulative wetland impacts and the effects of compensatory mitigation projects within watersheds. The site evaluation techniques and sampling design to be developed by this project will build on the considerable work completed to date on Colorado wetland evaluation and classification. This project proposes to develop methods to carry out Level II analyses of hydrogeomorphic condition of wetlands in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The study will focus on methods directly applicable to the central mountains, but methods will be designed such that they can be extended to cover other regions with minimal revision. The specific goals of the FY 2001 project are : (1) Define hydrogeomorphic subclasses for wetlands found in the upper montane and subalpine zones of the central Colorado Rockies; (2) Characterize the natural (reference) geomorphic position, hydrology and hydrodynamics of each defined wetland subclass; (3) Develop a method to rapidly assess the success of compensatory mitigation sites based on the hydrogeomorphic conditions imposed on the site by wetland restoration or creation; and (4) Apply the developed assessment method to a population of wetlands in Summit and Park Counties in Colorado.