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 

 characteristic(s) (vegetation, soils, or hydrology), 

 then return to this method and continue evaluating 

 characteristics not altered. {Note: Prior experience 

 with distxirbed sites may allow one to easily evalu- 

 ate an altered characteristic, such as when vegeta- 

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

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

 determination one or more of these three character- 

 istics is found to have been significantly altered, 

 the disturbed area wetland determination proce- 

 dures should be followed. If the area is not signifi- 

 candy disturbed, 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 wetland. 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 wedand hydrology must 

 be further 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 repon to 

 see if they are properly mapped, and look for 

 hydric soil characteristics or indicators. In this 

 way, the boundary of areas meeting the hydric soil 

 criterion is funher 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 consider- 

 ing landscape position and evaluating soil character- 

 istics for hydric soil properties (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. Cenain hydric soils are 

 mapped with nonhydric soils as an association or 

 complex, while other hydric soils occur as inclu- 

 sions in nonhydric soil map units. Only the hydric 

 soil portion of these map units should be evaluated 

 for hydrophytic vegetation.) In areas where hydric 

 soils are not easily located by landscape position 

 and soil characteristics (morphology), a qualified 

 soil scientist should be consulted. {CAUTION: 

 Become familiar with problematic hydric soils that 

 do not possess good hydric field indicators, such as 

 red parent material soils, some sandy soils, and 

 some floodplains soils, so that these hydric soils are 

 not misidentified as nonhydric soils, see section on 

 problem area wetiands, p. 55.) {Note: If the project 

 area does not have a soil map, hydric soil areas 

 must be determined in the field to use the point 

 intercept sampling method. Consider landscape 

 position, such as depressions, drainageways, 

 floodplains and seepage slopes, and look for field 

 indicators of hydric soil, then delineate the hydric 

 soil areas accordingly. If the boundary of the hydric 

 soil area cannot be readily delineated, one should 

 use the quadrat sampling procedure on p. 40.) 



After establishing the boundary of the area in ques- 

 tion, proceed to Step 5. 



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 long-term fluctuations in precipitation, 

 surface water, or ground water levels? 



2) Are hydrophytic vegetation indicators 

 lacking due to seasonal fluctuations 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 

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



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