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**National Standards and Quality Components**

**For**

**Wetlands, Deepwater and Related Habitat Mapping**

**2004**

**U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service**

**Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation**

**Branch of Habitat Assessment**

**Arlington, VA 22203**

**Program Contacts**

**U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\
Division of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation\
1849 C. Street, N.W.\
Room 400 - Arlington Square\
Washington, D.C. 20240\
703/358-2161\
FAX: 703/358-1869**

**Benjamin N. Tuggle, Ph.D.\
Chief, Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation\
Phone: 703/358-2161**

**John Cooper\
Chief, Branch of Habitat Assessment\
Phone: 703/358-2161**

**CONTENTS**

Page No.

General Disclaimer
..........................................................................
5

I. Quality Control Concepts and
Rationale............................................... 5

II\. Program Mission and
Goals............................................................ 6

III\. Service and National Program
Standards............................................ 6

-   Wetland Classification

-   Deepwater Habitats

-   Riparian Habitats

-   Upland Habitats

-   Metadata

-   Geospatial Data Standards

-   Standard Hardcopy Map

-   Technical Reports

IV\.
Limitations..................................................................................
11

-   Disclaimer

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-   Minimum Mapping Unit - Wetlands

V. Components of Data
Quality.............................................................. 13

-   Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats -- Components of Quality

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-   Metadata Requirements

VI\. Technical
Procedures.....................................................................
15

VII\. Management
Tasks......................................................................
15

-   Dispute Resolution

-   Service Personnel - Qualifications and Training

VIII\.
References..............................................................................
17

**General Disclaimer**

The use of trade, product, industry or firm names or products in this
report is for informative purposes only and does not constitute an
endorsement by the U.S. Government or the Fish and Wildlife Service.

**I. QUALITY CONTROL CONCEPTS AND RATIONALE**

There is increasing importance and sensitivity attached to data quality
and integrity in the Federal Government, including administrative
requirements for information technology systems, computer systems and
Internet security. Both the Department of the Interior and the Fish and
Wildlife Service published Information Quality Guidelines. The Service
produced step-down Information Quality Guidelines (FWS 2002) to ensure
the quality, objectivity and integrity of information disseminated by
the agency. These guidelines are applicable to all Service offices that
disseminate information to the public.

"Specifications and Guidelines for Quality Systems for Environmental
Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs" (ANSI/ASQC E4
1994) is a national consensus standard authorized by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI). It was developed by the American
Society for Quality (ASQ) and provides a basis for planning,
implementing, documenting, and assessing an effective quality system for
collecting and evaluating environmental data (EPA 2000). This provides a
recognized and accepted framework for a quality control plan that can be
used to ensure that Service programs and decisions are supported by data
of the type and quality needed.

It is clear from these guidelines that a system for quality assurance is
needed for those Service programs that collect, analyze, report and
distribute scientific information. This document provides the Service's
mission and goals for inventorying wetlands, deepwater and related
habitats. It contains the standards to be used, discusses program
limitations, establishes requirements for data quality and provides
mechanisms for quality control implementation.

**II. PROGRAM MISSION AND GOALS**

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission is to conserve, protect,
and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. In the 1970s, the Service
established the National Wetlands Inventory to provide resource managers
with information on the location, extent and types of wetland and
deepwater habitats. The Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 \[16
U.S.C. 3931(a)\] and its subsequent amendments, gave the Service
specific goals and deadlines for producing hard copy and digital wetland
maps for the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and its Trust
Territories. The principal focus was to produce **wetland maps that are
graphic representations of the type, size and location of all surface
waters in the United States (wetlands and deepwater habitats)**. Today,
however, the Service faces difficult natural resource management
challenges that did not exist when the inventory was created. A new
strategy was developed to increase the availability and application of
digital map information for natural resources planning and management in
support of the Service's conservation programs (USFWS 2002). **The
present goal of the National Wetlands Inventory is to provide the
citizens of the United States and its Trust Territories with current
geospatially referenced information on the status, extent,
characteristics and functions of wetlands, riparian, deepwater and
related aquatic habitats in priority areas to promote the understanding
and conservation of these resources.**

Within this context, the objective of mapping wetlands and deepwater
habitats remains to produce reconnaissance level information[^1] on the
location, type, size of these habitats such that they are accurate at
the nominal scale of the 1:24,000 base map, and the 1:63,360 base map
for Alaska. The Service recognized the limitations of using remotely
sensed information as the primary data source, and additionally, by
policy, excluded some wetland types from its inventory (see Section IV -
Limitations). The Service did not design or intend the program to
produce legal or regulatory products. Unintended use of the information
or products is discouraged.

**III. SERVICE AND NATIONAL** **PROGRAM STANDARDS**

Mapping involves a number of functions including feature identification,
classification, field verification, methods for data capture and
storage, generation of map products in hard copy and digital formats,
procedural documentation, and application of technology. Each function
requires a level of standardization to produce consistent products.

**Wetland Classification**

Wetlands and deepwater habitats are defined and classified according to
the Service's wetland classification system (Cowardin *et al.* 1979).
This definition is the Service's standard, and is the national standard
for wetland mapping, monitoring, and data reporting as determined by the
Federal Geographic Data Committee on December 17, 1996. It is a two-part
definition:

> *Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic
> systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the
> land is covered by shallow water.*
>
> *For purposes of this classification wetlands must have one or more of
> the following three attributes: (1) at least periodically, the land
> supports predominantly hydrophytes, (2) the substrate is predominantly
> undrained hydric soil, and (3) the substrate is nonsoil and is
> saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during
> the growing season of each year.*

This classification system was adapted for mapping purposes (USFWS
2004). The minimum standard is classification to all three of the
following levels: ecological system, subsystem (where applicable), and
class. Other identifiers may be added to satisfy more regional needs
including subclass, water regime modifiers, water chemistry modifiers,
soil modifiers, special modifiers, and other descriptors.

**Deepwater Habitats**

Wetlands and deepwater habitats are defined separately by Cowardin *et
al.* (1979) because the term wetland does not include deep, permanent
water bodies. Deepwater habitats are permanently flooded land lying
below the deepwater boundary of wetlands. Deepwater habitats include
environments where surface water is permanent and often deep, so that
water, rather than air, is the principal medium in which the dominant
organisms live, whether or not they were attached to the substrate.

**Riparian Habitats**

Riparian habitats are among the most important vegetative communities
for western wildlife species. Because of its expertise in wetland
identification and mapping, the Service has been asked to map riparian
areas of the western United States. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956
authorized the Service to map habitats used by fish and wildlife
resources. Under that authority, the Service developed and implemented
"A System for Mapping Riparian Areas in the Western United States"
(USFWS 1997). The Services riparian mapping system has been applied to
several efforts to locate and describe this unique vegetative community
in the western United States. The Service's riparian definition is:

> *Riparian areas are plant communities contiguous to and affected by
> surface and subsurface hydrologic features of perennial or
> intermittent lotic and lentic water bodies (rivers, streams, lakes or
> drainage ways). Riparian areas have one or both of the following
> characteristics: 1) distinctively different vegetative species than
> adjacent areas, and 2) species similar to adjacent areas but
> exhibiting more vigorous or robust growth forms. Riparian areas are
> usually transitional between wetland and upland.*

**Upland Habitats**

Historically, all areas not mapped as wetland or deepwater were labeled
as "upland" on the Service's wetland maps. New technologies negate the
need for labeling of non-wetland areas and consequently are considered
upland by default. Some habitat mapping projects may require more
specialized upland classification. For these projects, the Service uses
the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) land classification scheme described
by Anderson *et al.* (1976). More detailed Level 1 or Level 2
descriptors found in Anderson *et al*. (1976) or other schemes may be
used to satisfy specific study applications.

**Metadata**

Metadata are the supplemental information used to document digital data
content and source.

The Service uses the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content
Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM), also referred to as
FGDC-STD-001-1998. On August 20, 2003 the Service established a
procedural standard for documenting biological metadata.

**Geospatial Data Standard**

Digital wetland data from the Service's geodatabase complies with the
Service's Standards for Geographic Information Systems (FWM# 406, 270 FW
8) and the Data Management Standards (FWM# 406, 270 FW 6).

Digital wetlands data are provided in a personal geodatabase format.
Wetlands digital data will be provided in a uniform projection (Albers
Equal-Area Conic Projection) for each of the five mapping areas that
compose the U.S. (conterminous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the
U. S. Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Trust Territories. The Albers
Equal-Area Conic projection is frequently used for a variety of digital
spatial data sets published by both the Service and the USGS. The
horizontal planar units are meters and the horizontal planar datum is
the North American Datum of 1983, also called NAD83.

Standards for the U. S. Geological Survey published digital spatial data
were used to define the standard parallels, central meridians, and
latitudes of origin for each wetland mapping area contained within the
Service's wetlands geodatabase.

Geographic data are stored as polygons and lines. In early edition
wetlands maps, small wetland features were represented as points. These
points were an artifact of the scale limitations of the cartographic
technology used to map the wetlands. The use of modern digital
technology and on-screen mapping of wetlands allows interpretation to be
done at a much larger scale. Features previously represented as points
are delineated as polygons. Existing features previously digitized as
points will be maintained in the geodatabase, but buffered to small
(0.10 ac) polygon size.

Data management, electronic transfer and storage of data will conform to
applicable Service information resources management policies and
procedures, or applicable American National Standards Institute
documents.

**Standard (Hardcopy) Map Product**

The standard map product has been a large-scale map (1:24,000/1:25,000)
for all areas, except Alaska where 1:63,360 is the USGS base map
standard[^2]. The wetland maps were produced as topical overlays using
USGS topographic maps as the base. The product is a composite map
showing topographic and planimetric features from the USGS map base and
wetlands and deepwater habitats from the Service's topical overlay.

Current geographic information system technology and advances in
computerized mapping have enhanced the capability of the Service to map
and display wetland information. However, the Service will maintain a
nationally consistent, standardized hard copy map product. This will be
produced using either the USGS digital raster graphic as the topographic
base map (1:24,000/1:25,000 scale or 1:63,360 for Alaska) or the digital
orthophotography (same scale) with the wetlands and deepwater habitat
information as a topical display. These maps are Service products, and
will display the Service logo, and contact information. They should not
exceed overall dimensions of 61 cm wide and 72 cm long (24 x 28 inches)
unless printing oversized topographic quadrangles. Print on demand maps
should be produced on good quality, stock, white paper and must contain
the following information as a cartographic standard:

**Collar Notes and Other Marginal Data**

> This section concerns the requirements for correct phrasing and
> standardized treatments for collar notes on maps. Where possible USGS
> standards have been used (USGS 2001) where possible.

-   **Standard Service Visual Identity Logo**

Place the Service visual identity logo in the upper left margin:

-   **Department/Bureau Identifier**

> Place the Department/Bureau identifier in the upper left margin to the
> right of the visual identity logo:

**U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR**

**Fish and Wildlife Service**

-   **Map Title Block, Upper Right Margin**

> Show the quadrangle name on the first line of the map title block in
> the upper right margin, the State(s) and county (if applicable) name
> in which the quadrangle lies on the second line. Use only standard
> USGS quadrangle names for map titles. If the map depicts an area other
> than a quadrangle, obtain the quadrangle name from the Geographic
> Names Information System (GNIS). Append the word \"QUADRANGLE\" after
> the quadrangle name. It is permissible to abbreviate quadrangle names
> because of space limitations or to conform to local or legal usage. If
> the quadrangle is in more than one State, list first the State
> containing all or the larger part of the feature for which the map is
> named, and list the other States in descending order by area within
> the quadrangle.

-   **Source Notes**

> Source notes indicate the currentness of map content. Source notes may
> also credit agencies for maintaining and contributing data that the
> Service does not verify or recompile.
>
> If the map data was compiled from imagery, use the year of the imagery
> as the currentness date on the revised map. If there is a range of
> imagery years, use the oldest year.

**Derived from imagery taken in 1998 and other sources.**

**Field checked 2000**.

-   **Horizontal Coordinate Reference System Notes**

> Horizontal coordinate reference system notes identify the system used
> to reference locations on the ground. All updated maps are plotted on
> the Universal Transverse Mercator projection and North American Datum
> of 1983:

**North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83):**

**Universal Transverse Mercator Projection**

-   **Explanatory Notes**

> Explanatory notes describe specific features that appear in the body
> of the map. Unless otherwise stated, the following explanatory notes
> have been presented in their preferred order:

Web reference to classification or legend

Contact information

Mandatory disclaimer as follows:

*Federal, State and local regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over
wetlands may define or describe wetlands in a different manner than
those in this inventory. There is no attempt, in either the design or
products of this inventory, to define the limits of proprietary
jurisdiction of any governmental unit or to establish the geographical
scope of the regulatory programs of government agencies. Persons
intending to engage in activities involving modifications within or
adjacent to wetland areas should seek the advice of appropriate Federal,
State or local agencies concerning specific agency regulatory programs
and proprietary jurisdictions that may affect such activities*.

Specialized disclaimers (e.g. unique data omissions or inclusions)

-   **Declination Diagram**

The declination diagram graphically depicts the direction of

> deviation of the UTM grid north and magnetic north from true north.

-   **Map Scale Note and Bar Scale**

> The map scale is a recognized way of referencing map series. The map
> scale note (representative fraction) may be used to relate map
> measurements to ground distances. Pattern the appropriate map scale
> note after the following:

**SCALE 1:24 000**

> Show the bar scale below the map scale note in both English and metric
> units.

-   **Custom Information (if appropriate)**

> Amend the 'For Sale' note when a State or Federal cooperating agency
> maintains a distribution center for maps falling within its area of
> interest and requests mention. Reference the cooperating agency by
> name and address (city, State, and ZIP code).

**For Sale by: South Dakota State University**

**Brookings, SD 57007**

-   **Neat Line**

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-   **Geographic Coordinates**

> Show the geographic coordinates in degrees/minutes/seconds at the
> corners.

-   **Quadrangle Location Diagram**

> The quadrangle location diagram can be used to generally locate the
> quadrangle within a State. If a quadrangle falls in two or more
> States, show the outline of the State having the feature for which the
> map is named.
>
> Specialized or custom maps may be produced to depict specific project
> areas or different geographic settings. These maps should retain as
> much of the standard information listed above as possible given any
> size and content differences.

**Technical Reports**

Technical reports, whether produced in hard or soft copy, must comply
with the Service's Graphic Standards and Format for Publications (USFWS
2000). Technical or scientific reports made available digitally through
the Service's web site, on CD or published in hard copy, must comply
with the project's Information Quality Guidelines.

**IV. LIMITATIONS**

**Disclaimer -** Certain wetland habitats may be excluded from the
National mapping program because of the limitations of aerial imagery as
the primary data source used to detect wetlands. These habitats include
seagrasses or submerged aquatic vegetation that are found in the
intertidal and subtidal zones of estuaries and near shore coastal
waters. The detection of submerged aquatic vegetation using aerial
imagery is difficult without extensive surface-level observations,
tide-stage data, water-clarity data and because of surface waves
(Ferguson et al. 1993).

Reefs include tropical reef communities (coral or tuberficid worm
reefs), Oyster (*Crassostrea virginica*) reefs, and artificial reefs.
Reef communities form a vital component of coastal ecosystems. Tropical
coral and worm reefs can be found in the Florida Keys extending south
from Miami and Soldier Key to the Dry Tortugas, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Hawaii and the islands of the Pacific Trust Territories.
Oyster reefs can be found in several states along the south Atlantic and
Gulf coasts. Artificial reefs may be found in almost any coastal
offshore waters. Reefs are found offshore in water depths from less than
1 m to over 40 m. Because of their depth, most reefs go undetected by
aerial imagery used to map wetlands (Dahl 2000).

Cowardin *et al.* (1979) does not recognize ephemeral water areas as a
wetland type. Therefore, ephemeral waters are not included as part of
this mapping effort. Different agencies describe "ephemeral wetlands" in
different ways. Ephemeral waters are areas that are flooded or ponded
with surface runoff for less than seven days. Wetlands such as what EPA
refers to as seasonal ponds, temporary ponds or vernal pools (U.S. EPA
-- http://[[www.epa.gov]{.underline}](http://www.epa.gov/)) are included
as wetland types in the Service's mapping efforts.\
\
By policy, the Service also excludes certain types of "farmed wetlands"
as may be defined by the Food Security Act or that do not coincide with
the Cowardin *et al*. definition[^3]. Contact the Service's Regional
Wetland Coordinator for additional information on what types of farmed
wetlands are included on wetland maps.

**Minimum Mapping Unit** **- Wetlands**

At the start of the Service's operational wetland mapping program, the
most widely available aerial photography was 1:80,000 scale,
panchromatic (black and white), although some photography as small as
1:130,000 scale was used for mapping wetlands. On these early maps, the
targeted minimum mapping unit (i.e., the smallest feature consistently
mapped) was 3.0 to 5.0 acres (1.2 -- 2.0 ha). The National High Altitude
Photography Program (NHAP -- <http://edc.usgs.gov/guieds/nhap.html>) in
the 1980s acquired 1:58,000 scale, color-infrared aerial photography and
changed the minimum size wetland that could be mapped. Using 1:58,000
scale photography, the targeted minimum mapped wetland was changed to
range from 1.0 to 3.0 acres (0.4 -1.2 ha). The NHAP program was
subsequently replaced with the National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP
-- <http://edc.usgs.gov/products/aerial/napp.html>) that acquired
1:40,000 scale, color-infrared and/or panchromatic aerial photography.

Seasonally flooded to permanently flooded wetlands are generally easier
to identify using aerial imagery than drier types (temporarily flooded
and saturated). Also, wetlands in open areas (e.g., prairies or
grasslands) are easier to identify than wetlands under thick, forested
canopies or forested wetlands within a wetland-upland forest matrix.
Wetlands are dynamic systems that may sustain several years of drought
conditions, making it difficult to identify and map simply because they
are not detected on aerial imagery. Wetlands smaller than the "targeted
minimum mapping unit" may be included on any era wetland map. Actual
mapped features on some wetland maps indicate that for some wetland
types, the minimum size represented was less than 1.0 acre (0.4 ha).
However, not all wetlands less than the targeted size category were
detected consistently across the Nation.

Currently, the minimum mapping unit target for standard National
Wetlands Inventory maps is 1.0 acre (0.4 ha). Special mapping projects
may exceed this target.

**V. COMPONENTS OF DATA QUALITY FOR WETLANDS AND DEEPWATER MAPS**

There are no absolutes in wetlands mapping. The Service possesses
considerable expertise and experience in the identification and
classification of Cowardin-type wetlands. Using this expertise, the
Service has determined that the following minimum requirements must be
met for the wetlands map data to be acceptable. They reflect the overall
intentions and direction of the Service in regards to quality control.

Federal standards that assist in documenting and transferring data sets
recognize five important components of data quality (MN Planning Land
Management Information Center 1999). These include:

-   ***Positional accuracy*** ***-*** How closely the coordinate
    descriptions of features compare to their actual location.

-   ***Attribute accuracy*** - How thoroughly and correctly the features
    in the data set are described.

-   ***Completeness -*** The decisions that determine what is contained
    in the data set.

-   ***Logical consistency -*** The extent to which geometric problems
    and drafting inconsistencies exist with the data set.

-   ***Lineage -*** The source materials that are used to construct the
    data set and what steps are taken to process the data.

The first three of these components are addressed here. Logical
consistency and lineage involve technical aspects of the wetlands data
collection effort and are discussed as part of the project's technical
specifications (USFWS 2004).

**Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats -- Components of Quality**

-   **Identification or Completeness-** The Service's current minimum
    mapping unit target for wetland is 1.0 acre (0.4ha). Maps must
    depict 90 percent of all wetlands 1.0 acre (0.4 ha) or larger to be
    considered acceptable[^4].

-   **Classification or Attribute Accuracy -** Cowardin *et al.* (1979)
    is the Service's and a National standard for mapping wetlands. Maps
    must have 95 percent of the mapped features correctly classified to
    the Cowardin Class level to be considered acceptable.

-   **Positional Accuracy or Horizontal Error --** Horizontal error is a
    calculation of the error range associated with a location (NPS
    2002). In this instance horizontal error relates to the delineation
    accuracy of the wetland on the landscape and is determined by the
    source map scale and digitizing precision. Features delineated as
    wetland boundaries from aerial imagery must be within 33 feet (10
    meters) of their location on that image to be acceptable.

-   **Edge Matching -** Every effort must be made to ensure wetland map
    data are seamless. For maps produced in the same era or edition,
    work areas should be edge-matched so that 100 percent of the
    classification attributes for adjacent features agree, and
    delineations for adjacent features are within 33 feet (10 meters) of
    their true location.

**Metadata Requirements -** Mandatory metadata requirements include the
completion and submission of the following items in electronic form:

-   Supplemental Map Information (User Report)

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-   Regional Transmittal Form

    **VI. TECHNICAL PROCEDURES FOR WETLAND AND DEEPWATER HABITAT
    MAPPING**

Operational techniques and options of how best to attain the quality
requirements are discussed in "Technical Procedures for Wetland and
Deepwater Habitat Mapping" (USFWS 2004).

**VII.** **MANAGEMENT TASKS RELATING TO QUALITY CONTROL PRACTICES**

Management activities and tasks are integral to effective quality
control practices. They are the aspects of the overall management
function that determine and implement the quality control policies and
guidelines. They are to be administered by the Chief, Branch of Habitat
Assessment:

-   Coordinate with senior management

-   Manage and coordinate the quality control system and related
    processes

-   When necessary, act as liaison to settle disputes on matters of
    quality control or policy

-   Manage organization resources designated to support quality
    assurance

-   Maintain pertinent records.

-   Ensure that all changes to the guidance documents are available to
    all personnel using that guidance, including active contractors and
    cooperators

-   Review and approve quality control documentation

-   Review and approval of papers and reports that meet the Information
    Quality Guidelines for publication and dissemination

-   Oversee data management and storage processes

-   Ensure that project quality control personnel are adequately trained
    and qualified

The implementation of quality management activities including
limitations on the use of extramural support agreements to implement
quality control operations and reporting requirements are presented
below:

Two types of quality management functions are described:

-   Exclusively Service Functions - inherently governmental work which
    must be performed only by qualified Service personnel. These
    functions include:

    Project implementation and oversight

Master Geodatabase data requests

Project conventions or protocol revision or development

Regional quality control and certification

National quality control review

> Data delivery to Master Geodatabase

Master Geodatabase administration

Public interface

-   Discretionary Functions - Work performed on behalf of Service
    through appropriate extramural agreements shall comply with the data
    quality requirements. Discretionary activities that may be performed
    either by Service personnel or by non-Service personnel under the
    specific technical direction of, and performance monitoring by,
    Service personnel under an approved contract, work assignment,
    delivery order, task order, etc. Such functions include:

    Field verification/reconnaissance

Image interpretation and initial quality control

Data capture

Image rectification

Internal reporting (trip reports, metadata, etc.)

Other functions as specified by task assignment

**Dispute Resolution** - Oversight responsibilities for quality
assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) activities may sometimes result
in disagreements between the oversight person or group and the
originating image analysts regarding the mapping results. Such disputes
may involve technical issues (e.g., data quality, reliability of
collateral data, quality reviews, etc.) and management issues (e.g.,
available technology, management systems or personnel). In situations
where technical issues regarding QA and QC activities are in dispute,
resolution should be sought at the lowest management level practicable.
All parties should make every effort to resolve disputes through
discussion and negotiated resolution. If unsuccessful, final resolution
will be made by the senior manager for the organization.

**Service** **Personnel - Qualifications and Training**

Service personnel are responsible for conducting technical assessments
of quality. The Service will use only fully trained, experienced and
technically proficient personnel for this function. The interpretation
and mapping of wetlands and other aquatic habitats to meet Service
standards is a highly specialized discipline. With the advent of newer
mapping technologies, image analysts need to possess additional skills
and knowledge of computerized mapping systems, geographic information
technology, characteristics of various remote sensors, wetland ecology,
wetland classification and land use. "Technical Procedures for Wetland
and Deepwater Habitat Mapping" (USFWS 2004) discuss the requirements for
personnel depending on specific techniques employed to map wetlands
(i.e. stereo vision for those using stereoscopic techniques).

Management can ensure that data and product quality requirements and the
performance of personnel are satisfactory by monitoring and through
verification of the procedures, methods, conditions, processes,
products, services and analysis of records in relationship to the
specified requirements.

**VIII. REFERENCES**

American National Standard ANSI/ASQC E4. 1994. Specifications and
guidelines for quality systems for environmental data collection and
environmental technology programs.

Anderson, J.R., E.E. Hardy, J.T. Roach and R.E. Winter. 1976. A land use
and land cover classification system for use with remote sensor data.
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 964. U.S. Geological Survey,
Washington, D.C. 28 p.

Cowardin, L.M., V. Carter, F.C. Golet, and E.T. LaRoe. 1979.
Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States.
U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington,
DC. FWS/OBS-79/31.

Dahl, T.E. 2000. Status and trends of wetlands in conterminous United
States 1986 to 1997. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Washington, D.C. 82 p.

Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. Quality manual for environmental
programs - 5360 A1. Office of Environmental Information, Quality Staff.
Washington, D.C. 62 p.

Ferguson, R.L., L.L. Wood and D.B. Graham. 1993. Monitoring spatial
change in seagrass habitat with aerial photography. Photogrammetric
Engineering and Remote Sensing. 59(6): 1033-1038.

Minnesota Planning Land Management Information Center. 1999. Positional
accuracy handbook. Using the National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy
to measure and report geographic data quality. St. Paul, MN. 29 p.

National Park Service. 2002. GIS (Geographic Information System) data
specifications for resource mapping, inventories, and studies. National
GIS and Inventory and Monitoring Programs. Denver, CO. 10 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1998. A system for mapping riparian
areas in the western United States. U.S. Department of the Interior,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Lakewood, CO. 15 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2000. Graphic standards. U.S. Department
of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 40 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. Information quality guidelines. U.
S. Department of the Interior, Fish Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
Final Notice. 11 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2002. National Wetlands Inventory: A
strategy for he 21^st^ Century. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish
and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 13 p.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2004. Technical procedures for mapping
wetland, deepwater and related habitats. Branch of Habitat Assessment,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 46 p.

U.S. Geological Survey. 2001. Standards for revised primary series
quadrangle maps. Part 2 Specifications. National Mapping Program
Technical Instructions. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological
Survey, Reston, VA. 76 p. plus Appendices.

[^1]: ^?^ Reconnaissance level mapping is constrained by remote sensing
    methods employed (not to species level), time and cost of data
    collection.

[^2]: ^?^Some small scale (1:100,000 and 1:250,000) wetland maps have
    been produced by the Service. These are considered special or custom
    map products.

[^3]: The existing policy, which was signed in 1978, allows the NWI to
    map farmed prairie pothole depressions, cranberry bogs, California
    tidelands and playa lakes.

[^4]: Precise wetland boundaries are often contested using the best
    technological and scientific tools. There is also limited
    opportunity to evaluate wetland maps to assess completeness and
    accuracy without considerable interagency collaboration
    on-the-ground, over an extended period of time, and in various
    geographic locations.