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<br />90 <br /> <br />Wetland Definitions <br /> <br />It has been pointed out that no single, c:orrect, indisputable, <br />ecologically sound definition for wetlands exists, primarily because of a <br />nearly unlimited variation in hydrology, soil and vegetational types and the <br />fact that wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic <br />systel!lS (Cowardin et al. 1979). In many cases wetlands have been described <br />in terms ,of what they are not. Th~y should not be viewed as dry land <br />although they mayor IIl8Y not always be floocled or wet. Certainly they are <br />part of a continuous landscspe which 1llerges from IoIet to dry. In many cases <br /> <br />it is not easy to determine precisely where they begin and where they end-- <br />a ma tter of concern to government agencies seeking to re;gulate IoIetland use. <br /> <br />The term "wetland" is a general catch-all term which includes landscape <br />units such as marshes, swamps, bogs, and lowlands covered with shallow and <br />sometimes temporary or intermittent waters. The term also includes wet <br />meadows, potholes, sloughs, the riparian zone, and river-overflow areas such <br />as those contiguous with estuaries. Shallow lakes and ponds, usually wi th <br />emergent vegetation as a conspicuous feature, ar.e included in the wetland <br />definition, but the permanent waters of lakes and reser.voirs are not <br />included. <br /> <br />\~ ,,'7 <br />~ <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />Legally, the most widely used definition for wetlands is that published <br />in the Clean Water Act (1977) and the subsequent Corps of Engineers (COE) <br />and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines published in the <br />Feder I Register. Therefore, by federal law, 'iwetlands are defined as: <br /> <br />Those areas that are inundated-or saturated by surface or i <br />ground-watar at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, <br />and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of <br />vegetatJ.oa.,,,l)lpically adapted for, life in saturated soil condi tions . <br />Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, a.nd silll1lar areas. <br /> <br />For purposes of the National Wetlands Inventory and to develop an <br />a cceptable classification system adaptable to all of the nation's wetlands, <br />the Ii.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines wetlands as follows: <br /> <br />! <br />".; <br /> <br />iretlands"ire"lands transitional between terrestrial and aqua!;ic <br />syste:!lS where the water table is usually at or near the surfaCE' <br />or the land is covered by shallow water. For purpo,ses of this <br />claa.ific.ti~n, wetland muet have one or more of the following <br />ttu:aa attributes: 1) at least periodically, the laInd supports. <br />predo~)lAll<lilo}'hydrophytesi 2) the substrate is predominantly <br />utfc!!i~9.d hfcldcaoili and' 3) the substrate is nonlloil and is <br />sarurated,,~.th water or covered by shallow water at some time <br />during the growing aeason of each year. <br /> <br />.:" <br /> <br />This definition is intended to be a reasonable compromise between the <br />many proposed definitions and wetland concepts. Note that it includes the <br />concept of nonvegetated areas such as rocky shores, ofte,n dominated by <br />