32 Implementation Guidance 



the inventory system used in Florida is based on organizing land 

 acquisition objectives according to resource categories, such as natural 

 communities, forest resources, coastal resources and fish and wildlife. 

 Wetlands are one of the land types found within most of these resource 

 categories. The Cowardin et al. wetlands classification system used in 

 the NWPCP can easily be applied to address wetland types found within 

 such systems. 



States using their own resource classification system, however, should be 

 or become knowledgeable about the Cowardin et al. classification system 

 in order to ensure that priority acquisition proposals considered for LWCF 

 appropriations are definable wetland types established to be rare or 

 declining in the ecoregion. The Service continues to recommend that 

 States use the Cowardin et al. wetlands classification system because it 

 leads to standardized terminology and is useful for objectively comparing 

 States based on compatible data. 



It is recognized that States have experienced some problems in modifying 

 their SCORPs to address wetlands since the schedule for developing 

 SCORP wetlands components preceded completion of the final NWPCP. 

 Consequently, some States were uncertain about the level of specificity 

 required in their wetlands components to be consistent with the NWPCP 

 and the Act. In recognition of this scheduling problem, the National Park 

 Service provided the States with a draft version of the NWPCP in July 1987 

 for guidance. The final NWPCP is very similar based on framework and 

 generic criteria. 



The National Park Service is allowing States flexibility in their Policy 

 and Assessment Plans to develop more generalized wetlands components 

 (e.g., priority given to declining and vulnerable wetland types along a 

 major river in the southwestern portion of a State) if detailed information 

 is not available to identify specific wetland tracts for acquisition. 

 However, if wetlands acquisition is a SCORP priority, the National Park 

 Service is requiring States to submit more specific information regarding 

 wetland sites in the wetlands components to the Action Programs. 



The available LWCF moneys for each State is very limited and also 

 wetland projects have to compete with non-wetland outdoor recreation 

 projects. Therefore, a State many want to develop a wetland acquisition 

 ranking system that would permit numerical ranking of candidate 

 projects. A weighted scoring system could assist decisionmakers in 

 determining which project(s) should be submitted first for possible use of 

 LWCF moneys. The Service can provide information on its Land 

 Acquisition Priority System to those States desiring an example of a 

 numerical ranking system for wetland acquisition planning purposes. 

 The National Park Service, however, is not requiring States to develop a 

 numerical ranking system for use in the Recreation Plan Standard Open 

 Project Selection Process. 



