Section E. Comprehensive Determinations 



67. This section describes procedures for making comprehensive wetland 

 determinations. Unlike procedures for making routine determinations (Sec- 

 tion D) , application of procedures described in this section will result in 

 maximum information for use in making determinations, and the information usu- 

 ally will be quantitatively expressed. Comprehensive determinations should 

 only be used when the project area is very complex and/or when the determina- 

 tion requires rigorous documentation. This type of determination may be re- 

 quired in areas of any size, but will be especially useful in large areas. 

 There may be instances in which only one parameter (vegetation, soil, or hy- 

 drology) is disputed. In such cases, only procedures described in this sec- 

 tion that pertain to the disputed parameter need be completed. It is assumed 

 that the user has already completed all applicable steps in Section B. NOTE: 

 Depending on site characteristics , it may be necessary to alter the sampling 

 design and/ or data collection procedures- 



68. This section is divided into five basic types of activities. The 

 first consists of preliminary field activities that must be completed prior to 

 making a determination (STEPS 1-5) . The second outlines procedures for deter- 

 mining the number and locations of required determinations (STEPS 6-8) . The 

 third describes the basic procedure for making a comprehensive wetland deter- 

 mination at any given point (STEPS 9-17). The fourth describes a procedure 

 for determining wetland boundaries (STEP 18). The fifth describes a procedure 

 for synthesizing the collected data to determine the extent of wetlands in the 

 area (STEPS 20-21). A flowchart showing the relationship of various steps 

 required for making a comprehensive determination is presented in Figure 16. 

 Equipment and material 



69. Equipment and materials needed for making a comprehensive deter- 

 mination include: 



a. Base map (Section B, STEP 2). 



b. Copies of DATA FORMS 1 and 2. 

 £. Appendices C and D. 



d. Compass. 



e. Tape (300 ft). 



f_. Soil auger or spade. 



g. Munsell Color Charts (Munsell Color 1975). 



70 



