PROCEED TO STEP 3. 



• STEP 3 - Determine the Type of Vegetation That Previously Occurred. 

 Obtain all possible evidence of the type of plant communities that 

 occurred in the area prior to alteration. Potential sources of such 

 evidence include: 



a. Aerial photography. Recent (within 5 years) aerial photography 

 can often be used to document the type of previous vegetation. 

 The general type of plant communities formerly present can 

 usually be determined, and species identification is sometimes 

 possible . 



b. Onsite inspection. Many types of activities result in only 

 partial removal of the previous plant communities, and remain- 

 ing species may be indicative of hydrophytic vegetation. In 

 other cases, plant fragments (e.g. stumps, roots) may be used 

 to reconstruct the plant community types that occurred prior to 

 site alteration. Sometimes, this can be determined by examin- 

 ing piles of debris resulting from land-clearing operations or 

 excavation to uncover identifiable remains of the previous 

 plant community. 



c. Previous site inspections. Documented evidence from previous 

 inspections of the area may describe the previous plant com- 

 munities, particularly in cases where the area was altered 

 after a permit application was denied. 



d. Adjacent vegetation. Circumstantial evidence of the type of 

 plant communities that previously occurred may sometimes be 

 obtained by examining the vegetation in adjacent areas. If 

 adjacent areas have the same topographic position, soils, and 

 hydrology as the altered area, the plant community types on the 

 altered area were probably similar to those of the adjacent 

 areas. 



e. SCS records. Most SCS soil surveys include a description of 

 the plant community types associated with each soil type. If 

 the soil type on the altered area can be determined, it may be 

 possible to generally determine the type of plant communities 

 that previously occurred. 



f. Permit applicant. In some cases, the permit applicant may pro- 

 vide important information about the type of plant communities 

 that occurred prior to alteration. 



g. Public. Individuals familiar with the area may provide a good 

 general description of the previously occurring plant 

 communities . 



h. NWI wetland maps. The NWI has developed wetland type maps for 

 many areas. These may be useful in determining the type of 

 plant communities that occurred prior to alteration. 



To develop the strongest possible record, all of the above sources 



should be considered. If the plant community types that occurred prior 



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