105 



wetlands remaining in North America for the benefit of present and future 

 generations. 



Definition and Delineation of Wetlands 



• The definition of what is a wetland and the criteria used in delineating wetland 

 areas must be scientifically valid and workable, and the definition and criteria 

 alike should recognize regional variations in the characteristics that define wet- 

 lands. SWCS recommends, therefore, that wetlands be defined as areas 

 having a predominance of hydric soils that are inundated or saturated by 

 surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, 

 and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegeta- 

 tion typically adapted to life in saturated soil conditions. 



Wetlands possess three essential characteristics: (1) hydrophytic vegeta- 

 tion; (2) hydric soils; and (3) wetland hydrology, which is the fundamental 

 physical condition necessary for the development and continued existence 

 of a wetland. Wetland hydrology is generally difficult to measure; howev- 

 er, hydrophytic vegetation and hydric soUs, as expressions of hydrology, 

 usually are more amenable to field observation and qualitative descrip- 

 tion. Wetland hydrology may be present for only a short period of time 

 during the year in some wetlands, such as playas and prairie potholes. 



• Federal government should not legislate specific wetland delineation criteria, 

 but rather establish a procedure for administering agencies to develop regional 

 delineation guidelines in consultation with states/provinces and an independent 

 scientific advisory committee. It follows then that the Federal Manual for 

 Delineating and Identifying Wetlands in the United States should provide 

 for a scientifically valid delineation of wetlands based on regional varia- 

 tions in wetland characteristics. 



• Agencies at all levels of government must use equivalent definitions of wet- 

 lands for regulatory purposes. This will require that agency personnel 

 involved in administering wetland protection laws and regulations receive 

 appropriate training for applying interdisciplinary field-delineation tech- 

 niques. 



Regulatory Programs and Their Scope 



• Section 404 of the United States Clean Water Act should be amended to make 

 this regulatory program more workable. The scope of this program and asso- 

 ciated state programs should be expanded to address explicitly the follow- 

 ing activities in wetlands: dredging, fOling, removal or excavation of soils, 

 drainage or flooding, and destruction of plant life or habitat. 



• Regulations should be restricted in their application to artificial and construct- 

 ed luetlands. Specifically, (a) artificially induced wetlands, such as those 

 resulting from and incidental to ongoing agricultural practices, should not 

 be used for mitigation of wetland loss and should not be included in the 

 United States wetland base; (b) artificial wetlands that are created or con- 

 structed and maintained solely for resource management purposes, such 

 as wastewater treatment, stormwater abatement, or wildlife management, 

 should be exempt from wetlands regulations so long as they are used and 

 managed for their intended purpose; and (c) wetland exemption criteria 



