2008-11-20_PERMIT FILE - M2008078 (6)

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Lamar Gravel Wetland Delineation Ecological Resource Consultants, Inc. 6.0 Immediately Adjacent Off-Site Wetlands and Waters of the U.S. Two wetlands/waters of the U.S. were identified immediately adjacent to the Study Area. Although the two areas are not located within the Study Area, they were delineated by ERC. A description of the wetlands/waters characteristics is provided as follows. Wetland A Wetland A is a palustrine emergent wetland fringe associated with an unnamed ditch which flows beneath the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad and begins to flow east at the southeast corner of the Study Area. The wetland is located adjacent to the southeast corner of the Study Area (Photos 1 and 2). The segment of the ditch adjacent to the wetland fringe is approximately eight to ten feet wide with a water depth of one foot. The ditch substrate consists of silt and gravel. The wetland fringe area is vegetated with bulrush, reed canary grass, dock and goldenrod. Soils are generally saturated at a depth of five inches. Soil color within the wetland fringe consists of black (10YR 2/1) in the upper 16 inches of the soil profile. A list of dominant vegetation identified within the wetland is provided in Table 1. Willow Creek flows north and connects into the unnamed ditch associated with Wetland A. The ditch continues to flow east, eventually flowing into the Arkansas River, approximately 2.5 miles from Wetland A. Since the ditch has a direct surface connection to the Arkansas River, Wetland A would be subject to jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. Table 2. Identified H dro h is Vegetation Scientific Name Common Name R g. 5 Indicator Status* Phalaris arundinacea Reed canary ass FACW+ Rumex cris us Curl dock FACW Sci us validus Bulrush OBL OBL=obligate wetland-occurs an estimated 99% in wetlands FACW=facultative wetland-occurs an estimated 67%-99% in wetlands FAC=facultative-equally occurs in non-wetlands as wetlands Wetland B Wetland B consists of an irrigation ditch with little vegetation and a palustrine emergent wetland fringe along the banks of the ditch (Photos 3 and 4). The Town of Lamar sewer lagoons outlet into the ditch. The ditch flows to the northeast, eventually connecting to the Arkansas River. Wetland B is located adjacent to the northern extent of the Study Area. The wetland areas are vegetated with narrowleaf cottonwood, reed canary grass and sandbar willow. The irrigation channel contained sparse vegetation while the banks were densely vegetation. No water was observed in the channel at the time of inspection. Soils are generally saturated at ten inches within Wetland B. Soil color within the wetland was typically very dark gray (10YR 3/1) within the upper 18 inches and had a clay loam texture. A list of dominant vegetation identified within the wetland is provided in Table 2. Wetland B has an associated ditch which conveys flow to the northeast, connecting to the Arkansas River approximately 1.5 miles from the Study Area. Due to the fact that the ditch has a 5 68