I 



Preface 



This manual describes technical criteria, field indicators and other sources of information, and 

 methods for identifying and delineating jurisdictional wedands in the United States. This manu- 

 al is the product of many years of practical experience in wedand identification and deUneation 

 by four Federal agencies: Army Corps of Engineers (CE), Environmental Protection Agency 

 (EPA), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Soil Conservation Service (SCS). It is the cuhni- 

 nation of efforts to merge existing field-tested wedand delineation manuals, methods, and pro- 

 cedures used by these agencies. This manual draws heavily upon published manuals and methods, specifi- 

 cally Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual, EPA's Wetland Identification and Delineation 

 Manual, and SCS's Food Security Act Manual wedand determination procedure. 



The manual has been reviewed and concurred in by an interagency committee composed of the four Feder- 

 al agencies. This committee was established for purposes of reconciling differences in wedand delineation 

 procedures and developing a single interagency manual for identification and deUneation of wetlands. The 

 committee consisted of the following individuals: Robert Pierce, Bemie Goode, and Russell Theriot of the 

 Corps of Engineers; John Meagher, Bill Sipple, and Charles Rhodes of the Environmental Protection 

 Agency; David Stout, Ralph Tiner, and Bill Wilen of the Fish and Wildlife Service; and Steve Brady, 

 Maurice Mausbach, and Billy Teels of the Soil Conservation Service. The manual was prepared by Ralph 

 Tiner based on interagency committee decisions. The negotiations were facilitated by Howard Bellman and 

 Leah Haygood. 



This report should be cited as follows: 



^ Federal Interagency Committee for Wedand Delineation. 1989. Federal Manual for Identifying and DeHn- 

 eating Jurisdictional Wedands. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D.C. Cooperative 

 technical publication. 76 pp. plus appendices. 



