zarion and Conservation slides, soil surveys, NWI 

 maps, and other maps and photographs. {Note: 

 This step is more convenient to perform offsite, but 

 may be done onsite.) Proceed to Step 2. 



Step 2. Scan the areas that may meet the 

 hydric soil criterion and determine if disturbed con- 

 ditions exist. Are any significantly disturbed areas 

 present? If YES, identify their limits for they 

 should be evaluated separately for wetland determi- 

 nation purposes (usually after evaluating undis- 

 turbed areas). Refer to the section on disturbed are- 

 as (p. 50), if necessary, to evaluate the altered 

 characterisnc(s) (vegetation, soils, or hydrology); 

 then return to this method and continue evaluating 

 characteristics not altered. {Note: Prior experience 

 with disturbed sites may allow one to easily evalu- 

 ate an altered characteristic, such as when vegeta- 

 tion is not present in a farmed wetland due to culti- 

 vation.) Keep in mind that if at any time during this 

 determination, one or more of these three character- 

 istics are found to have been significantly altered, 

 the disturbed area determination procedures should 

 be followed. If the area is not significantly dis- 

 turbed, proceed to Step 3. 



Step 3. Scan the areas that may meet the 

 hydric soil criterion and determine if obvious signs 

 of wetland hydrology are present. The wetland 

 hydrology criterion is met for any area or portion 

 thereof where it is obvious or known that the area 

 is frequently inundated or saturated to the surface 

 during the growing season. If the above condition 

 exists, the hydric soil criterion is met for the sub- 

 ject area and the area is considered wetiand. If 

 necessary, confirm the presence of hydric soil by 

 examining the soil for appropriate field indicators. 

 {Note: Hydrophytic vegetation is assumed to be 

 present under these conditions, i.e., undrained 

 hydric soil, so vegetation does not need to be 

 examined. Moreover, hydrophytic vegetation 

 should be obvious in these situations.) Areas lack- 

 ing obvious indicators of wetland hydrology must 

 be funher examined, so proceed to Step 4. 



Step 4. Refine the boundary of areas that 

 meet the hydric soil criterion. Verify the presence 

 of hydric soil within the appropriate map units by 

 digging a number of holes at least 18 inches deep 

 along the boundary (interface) between hydric soil 

 units and nonhydric soil units. Compare soil sam- 

 ples with descriptions in the soil survey report to 

 see if they are property mapped and look for hydric 



soil characteristics or indicators. In this way, the 

 boundary of areas meeting the hydric soil criterion 

 is further refined by field observations. In map 

 units where only part of the unit is hydric (e.g., 

 complexes, associations, and inclusions), locate 

 hydric soil areas on the ground by considering 

 landscape position and evaluating soil characteris- 

 tics for hydric soil propenies (indicators). {Note: 

 Some hydric soils, especially organic soils, have 

 not been given a series name and are referred to by 

 common names, such as peat, muck, swamp, 

 marsh, wet alluvial land, tidal marsh, sulfaquents, 

 and sulfihemists. These areas are also considered 

 hydric soil map units. Certain hydric soils are 

 mapped with nonhydric soils as an association or 

 complex, while other hydric soils occur as inclu- 

 sions in nonhydric map units. Only the hydric soil 

 ponion of these map units should be evaluated for 

 hydrophytic vegetation in Step 7.) If the area meets 

 the hydric soil criterion, proceed to Step 5. {Note: 

 These areas are also considered to have met the 

 wetiand hydrology criterion.) 



Step 5. Determine whether normal environ- 

 mental conditions are present. Determine whether 

 normal environmental conditions are present by 

 considering the following: 



1) Is the area presentiy lacking hydrophytic 

 vegetation or hydrologic indicators due to annual, 

 seasonal or longterm fluctuations in precipitation, 

 surface water, or ground-water levels? 



2) Are hydrophytic vegetation indicators 

 lacking due to seasonal fluctuation in temperature 

 (e.g., seasonality of plant growth)? 



If the answer to either of these questions is YES or 

 uncertain, proceed to the section on problem area 

 wetland determinations (p. 55). If the answer to 

 both questions is NO, normal conditions are 

 assumed to be present, so proceed to Step 6. 



Step 6. Select representative observation 

 area(s). Identify one or more observation areas that 

 represent the area(s) meeting the hydric soil criteri- 

 on. A representative observation area is one in 

 which the apparent characteristics (determined vis- 

 ually) best represent characteristics of the entire 

 community. Mark the approximate location of the 

 observation area(s) on the aerial photo. Proceed to 

 Step 7. 



C 



32 



