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1 <br />Knowledge of the locations of existing wetlands and their regulatory status will: 1) alert mine <br />engineers and planners to speafic areas where mine development should be avoided and/or <br />minimized, 2) provide information that would be required for the submittal of a Section 404 permit <br />application 'rf wetlands are to be modified by mine development, and 3) supplement other <br />' environmental data collected for the site. <br />4.0 METHODS <br />4.1 In-House Data Gathering <br />Topographic mapping was produced at a scale of 1'=200' for the entire project area and <br />served as the base upon which field identified wetlands were recorded. An aerial overflight <br />was performed on October 23, 1993, yielding a color aerial photograph enlazged to a scale <br />of 1'=500'. This aerial was used in the office to verify and confirm the field collected data. <br />' 4.2 Field Identification <br />The wetland definition that guided this study is published in the Federal Register as part of <br />the Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 CFR Section 323.2), defining wetlands as: <br />'..those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at <br />a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal conditions <br />' do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated <br />soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and <br />similar areas.' <br />Methods described in the Coros of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual (1987) were used <br />to delineate wetland boundaries. This method requires the presence of positive wetland <br />characteristics from each of the three pazameters of vegetation, soils and hydrology. <br /> Hydrophyfic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrologic data collected on-site was used <br />' to differentiate between wetland and non-wetland areas. For the purpose of this study, <br /> vegetation was identified according to Weber (1990) and soil color data was obtained from <br />' Munsell (1990). Wetland community descriptions are found in Cowardin et al. (1979). <br /> Areas determined to be wetlands were mapped in the field using prominent landmarks and <br />' a measuring wheel, and later confirmed from the October 1993 color aerial photograph. <br /> <br />1 <br />t <br />