PREFACE 



This manual is a product of the Wetlands Research Program (WRP) of the 

 US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES), Vicksburg, Miss. The 

 work was sponsored by the Office, Chief of Engineers (OCE) , US Army. OCE 

 Technical Monitors for the WRP were Drs. John R. Hall and Robert J. Pierce, 

 and Mr. Phillip C. Pierce. 



The manual has been reviewed and concurred in by the Office of the Chief 

 of Engineers and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil 

 Works) as a method approved for voluntary use in the field for a trial period 

 of I year. 



This manual is not intended to change appreciably the jurisdiction of 

 the Clean Water Act (CWA) as it is currently implemented. Should any District 

 find that use of this method appreciably contracts or expands jurisdiction in 

 their District as the District currently interprets CWA authority, the 

 District should immediately discontinue use of this method and furnish a full 

 report of the circumstances to the Office of the Chief of Engineers. 



This manual describes technical guidelines and methods using a multi- 

 parameter approach to identify and delineate wetlands for purposes of Sec- 

 tion 404 of the Clean Water Act. Appendices of supporting technical infor- 

 mation are also provided. 



The manual is presented in four parts. Part IT was prepared by 

 Dr. Robert T. Huffman, formerly of the Environmental Laboratory (EL), WES, and 

 Dr. Dana R. Sanders, Sr. , of the Wetland and Terrestrial Habitat Group (WTHG) , 

 Environmental Resources Division (ERD) , EL. Dr. Huffman prepared the original 

 version of Part II in 1980, entitled "Multiple Parameter Approach to the Field 

 Identification and Delineation of Wetlands." The original version was dis- 

 tributed to all Corps field elements, as well as other Federal resource and 

 environmental regulatory agencies, for review and comments. Dr. Sanders re- 

 vised the original version in 1982, incorporating review comments. Parts I, 

 III, and IV were prepared by Dr. Sanders, Mr. William B. Parker (formerly 

 detailed to WES by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) , Soil Conservation 

 Service (SCS)) and Mr. Stephen W. Forsythe (formerly detailed to WES by the US 

 Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)). Dr. Sanders 

 also served as overall technical editor of the manual. The manual was edited 

 by Ms. Jamie W. Leach of the WES Information Products Division. 



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