# Presentation: 440945

## Rapid Assessment Method

- Brian Smith
- Water Quality/Biology Environmental Specialist     brian.smith @fhwa.dot.gov

## National Wetland

***National Wetland***
*** ******Mitigation ***
***Banking Study***
*** ******Technical and***
*** ******Procedural ***
***Support ***
***to Mitigation***
*** ******Banking ***
***Guidance***
***(Dec 1995)***

## Rapid Assessment Method

- Examples
-   Minnesota Routine Assessment Method
- Montana Department of Transportation
- Rouge River Project (MI)
- Wetland Rapid Assessment Procedure (FL)
- McHenry County, Illinois
- Advanced Identification (ADID) Study
- Evaluation Methodology

**Notes:**
Examples where RAM is being used as an assessment tool

## This Procedure is not HGM but...

- Geomorphic setting
- Hydrology is a key factor
- Assigns wetlands to HGM subclass

- Reference and reference standard wetlands used
- Models based on data from reference wetlands

## HGM APPROACH

**Lacks landscape focus **
**Costly to implement**
**Guidebook testing**
**Inconsistent**
**Uncoordinated**
**Depends on funding**
**Variables based on indicators not processes**

**Diagnostic not prescriptive**
**Does not contribute to mitigation design**
**No guarantees for success**
**Hydrology, WL, native vegetation**
**No structure for inserting success factors**

**Notes:**
A few problems with HGM

## Rapid Assessment 

- Incorporates many HGM concepts
- Follows _qualitative, rule-based modeling_
- Rules replace equations or quantitative data
- Draws on and synthesizes what is known without introducing unknown parameters
- Expedient, less costly, less time consuming

**Notes:**
New high spectral remote sensing techniques fit well with RAM.  And vice versa RAM can be quickly expanded to the multiple watershed and multiple county scale.

## Rapid Assessment 

*Functional indicators of each function*
*Functional indicators = *_*site variables*_
*Range of conditions = *_*variable conditions*_
- An index *(functional index) *generated for each function
*Indicates functional capacity*
*Only compared within same HGM class and region*

**Notes:**
RAM establishes functional indicators for each function.  These functional indicators reflect site variables which may range in degree and combination from one wetland to another wetland. 

Index suggests an optimal score of functional capacity and is based on observations of conditions and attributes. Certain HGM classes may not serve certain functions or may provide a very limited level of function

## Wetlands

**Notes:**
Evaluation and prediction of wetland health is never a straightforward process.  Especially as we attempt to consider how past activities have altered wetland and to what extent those affects will persist into the future.  When you throw in the rate and scale of developments the process becomes very challenging.  It is important that we do more than just visualize wetland systems on a map.  

## Slide 9

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**Notes:**
To obtain the best assessment and evaluation of wetland systems, we must look at the landscape from several perspectives.  Growth and population trends, impervious surfaces, transportation and travel demand, and wetland juxtaposition. 

## Travel Patterns Overlaid With Sewered Areas

**Notes:**
Some aspects of the human environment strongly correspond to each other revealing patterns and trends.

## Listed Species Habitat, Sewered Areas and Travel Patterns

**Listed Species Habitat, Sewered Areas and Travel Patterns**

**Notes:**
So we have the patterns in the human environment that pose a threat to the natural environment.  We can outline a number of habitats that might be impacted including identifying potential acreages.  However, it is very important and useful for decision-making to identify the quality sustainability of the natural environment as a system.  Many of our demands for the future can be predicted somewhat and many of our most valuable natural resources are already known.  So it is important to identify complimentary functions of interrelated systems.

## “The proximity of development may alter wetland functions and values.  ...evaluation of the resource must consider... adjacent land use and associated interrelationships”. 

National Academy of Science (NAS) 
regarding wetland loss and compensation:

Reduce Subjectivity
Consider Proximity of Development
Consider adjacent land use and associated interrelationships

- National Academy of Science (NAS)
- regarding wetland loss and compensation:
*Reduce Subjectivity*
*Consider Proximity of Development*
*Consider adjacent land use and associated interrelationships*

**Notes:**
???

## Slide 13

**Notes:**
The first aspect to consider should be the watershed and landscape in which a wetland is sustained.  Wetlands in a certain watershed function independently of wetlands of different watershed.  Evaluation procedures should reflect this as well as the ability of a location to sustain a functional wetland.  The next crucial step is to evaluate the wetlands within the appropriate landscape or watershed context.  In some cases, it is useful to evaluate non-water dependent impacts within the context of a watershed boundaries. Watersheds provide a very-well defined boundary that can be easily drawn on a map.

## Rapid Assessment Objectives

- Wetland evaluation method
- Rapid
- Economical
- Repeatable

**Notes:**
So the objective of RAM are...

## Rapid Assessment Objectives

- Meets needs of local regulatory  agencies
-  Identifies functions and values
- Incorporates some principles of HGM
- Considers spatial arrangements and scale
- Identifies human activities as part of the environment
- Enhance databases

## Stay away from:

- Using too many attributes and indicators
- Having too many categories
- Subjectivity
- Frivolous weighting schemes

## GIS Themes

- Used as spatial templates to define areal hydrologic settings
- Identify Geomorphic Setting
- Indicates the fluvial environment (e.g. hydric soils)
- Landforms and landscapes
- Water source and hydrodynamics
- Direction of flow and strength of water movement
- Layers ranked and combined at a landscape scale to provide a relative assessment of wetland equivalence

**Notes:**
The GIS data layers that we are interested in are indicators of hydrologic settings, and wetland occurrence.  Streams maps, wetland maps, hydric soils.  These GIS layers spatially represent specific physical properties associated with wetland occurrence and one or more wetland functions.  Understanding this, we can begin to synthesize and develop rules regarding indicators that we use to evaluate and wetland conditions.  

## Steps in the Procedure

- Describe the Region (including HGM or wetland classes)
- Develop a Profile for Each HGM or Wetland Class
- Develop a List of Functions
- Develop a Functional Profile for Each HGM Class
- List Relevant & Appropriate Variables for Each Function
- Describe Each of the Variables

**Notes:**
It is important that once we identify a list of functions that we develop a profile to describe the characteristics that make classes unique and the range of functions expected to be identified with each wetland class.  Some of these processes may be iterative.  For instance, step 5 involves a process of selecting variables that have meaning and eliminating overlap between variables and variables.  Some variables have weaker correlation than others.  Certain combinations of variables may not yield an adequate range of conditions.  For instance, presence of non-native or invasive plants may not be sufficient for distinguishing between high and low functioning wetlands.

## Steps in the Procedure

- Prepare Rationale for Model Development
- Develop an Inventory Sheet
- Develop a Model for Each Function
- Modify Procedure for Other Regions
- Apply Procedure to Case Studies in Several Regions
- Fine Tune Procedure Based on Case Study Results

**Notes:**
And of course it is important that we document our process for repeatability and peer review. 

## What should your assessment method do? 

- Rank wetland functions and values?
- Assess interrelationships?
- Assess regional significance?  (Mapping)
- Define watershed functions?
- Database integration
- Use good science (peer approved)

## Technical Team

- Defines:
- HGM classes
- Identifies reference criteria
- Identifies
- reference standard
- reference standard subset

- Defines:
- What is functional and dysfunction?
- _Should have local knowledge_
- What attributes that can be screened using GIS or aerial photography?

**Notes:**
Technical team provides guidance for developing HGM-like concepts, rules for modeling and assumptions for unknown parameters.  They should have local knowledge.  The reference standard  may be a description of optimal conditions defined by literature, potentially optimal conditions of known sites, or existing best conditions at known sites.

## Useful GIS Information

**2-ft contour**
**Hydric soils**
**Closed depressions**
**USGS blue-line streams**
**Shape files of recorded floods**
***2-yr, 5-yr, 10-yr, 20-yr, 100-yr***
**Existing info from land managers**

- Geomorphology
- Regeneration distance
- NRCS farmed wetlands
- Stream buffers
- Public lands
- Permanent water
-  Landscape factors

**Notes:**
How do you determine the ability of an area to sustain a functional wetland?  Under what circumstances would we find a high functional rating??  A low functional rating??  Much of the known data considered gives us an indication of flow regime, duration and frequency of flooding, existing and pre-existing conditions and alterations.  

Topographic depressions indicate places on the landscape where water is likely to pond because these are points of low elevation surrounded by points of higher elevation. Once water enters a depression, there is no outlet through which the water can drain, which causes the water to remain in the sink until evaporation and/or seepage occurs resulting in flood-water storage and possible interaction with ground-water resources.

LIDAR which stands for Light Detection and Ranging system is a remote sensing technology that creates detailed and highly accurate elevation information via precise timing of thousands of laser pulses striking the ground surface. Incorporation of a DEM  -  digital elevation model with LIDAR identifies localized hydrologic depressions and approximates location, size and flow routes

## Important Functions

**Important Functions**

***Biological/Habitat Functions***
**Wildlife Habitat/Floristic Diversity**
**Stream  and Lake Aquatic Habitat**

***Water Quality/ Stormwater Storage Functions***
**Shoreline and streambank stabilization**
**Sediment and toxicant retention**
**Nutrient removal and transformation**
**Stormwater storage and hydrologic stabilization**

**Notes:**
The habitat functions may consider proximity to wildlife management areas and conservation areas, distance away from primary and secondary roads, proximity to permanent water bodies, and landscape factors such as forest block size and core area.

The water-quality function is assessed by determining how well areas on the landscape filter, trap, or degrade chemical components such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which are commonly found in surface water. The water-quality function includes and provides for the analysis of flood frequency, stream buffers, and topographic depressions spatial data layers.  

## High Quality and High Value Wetlands

**High Quality and High Value Wetlands**

***High Quality Habitat***
**Habitat and Floristic Quality/Diversity**
**Irreplaceable**
**Unmitigatable **
_**High state/local inventory score**_** **

***High Functional Value***
**Functional value**
**Several beneficial functions provided**

**Notes:**
Wetland value can be the result of a highly diverse habitat or the result of a high functional values.  Some wetlands posses valuable landscape positions and are considered irreplaceable and unmitigable with respect to their functional capacity and interrelationships with other wetlands.  Wetlands may be either benefactors or contributors to a highly functioning wetland system.

## Slide 25

**Notes:**
Here is an example of how a wetland’s position is beneficial to another wetland.  The wetlands located along the fringe of development provide water quality beneficial to wildlife habitats downstream.  Then again, certain wetland may provide little or no functional value.

## Initial Screening Process

- Existing inventories (state, county)
- Aerial photo interpretation and scoring
- Hydric soils
- Size, shape characteristics
- Physical Attributes and Indicators
- Dependent on GIS, photo, **map resolution**
- Positive and negative
- Knowledge of local experts

**Notes:**
We can use certain types of information to describe indicators that an ideal wetland will have with respect to a particular function.  So we identify attributes, consider their condition, and rank the attributes that are necessary for each function and value.   (CLICK)

## Initial Screening Process

**Initial Screening Process**

**Purpose:**
**High functional vs. low functional**
_**Indicators of Dysfunction**_

**Notes:**
The stream on the left is located in a more desirable area and would receive higher score based on the surrounding landscape, possibly a more diverse flora and fauna community.  However, if either of these site were upstream of a high quality site then a higher values would be assigned to them.   (Click)

The attributes are used to distinguish between high, moderate or low functioning.  Presence of some attributes indicate a completely dysfunctional or altered system.

## Wildlife Habitat and Floristic Quality/Diversity

**Wildlife Habitat and Floristic Quality/Diversity**

**Attributes**
**Drainage ditches (-)**
**Excavation (-)**
**Size (GIS) (+)**
**Physical intrusions and barriers (-)**
**Surrounding land use (+/-)**
**Habitat structure (+)**
**Vegetative and open water interspersion**

**Notes:**
Habitat value is assessed from the sum of positive and negative attributes within and around the site.
The habitat function is assessed by determining how well areas on the landscape will support wildlife. Here is a list of attributes that can be observed via aerial photography and remote sensing. This information may be combined with known or retrievable data such as flora and fauna inventories, proximity to wildlife management areas and conservation areas, and other important landscape factors.

## Aquatic Habitat

**Aquatic Habitat**

**LAKES**

**STREAMS**

## Water Quality and Stormwater Storage Functions

**Three mitigating  functions present:**
**Sediment and toxicant retention**
**Nutrient removal and transformation**
**Stormwater Storage/Hydrologic Stabilization**
**Or critical size or juxtaposition in the landscape *****wrt *****to downstream resources**

**Notes:**
The water-quality function is assessed by determining how well areas on the landscape filter, trap, or degrade chemical components such as nitrogen and phosphorous, which are commonly found in surface water. The water-quality function includes and provides for the analysis of flood frequency, stream buffers, and topographic depressions spatial data layers. 

## Water Quality Mitigating  Functions

- Shoreline and streambank stabilization
- Flowing water present
- Sediment and toxicant retention
- Nutrient removal and transformation
- Stormwater Storage/Hydrologic Stabilization

## GIS Screening

- Shoreline stabilization
- Quality of buffer vegetation
- Wetland adjacency
- Wetland buffer width

- Sediment and toxicant retention
- Size
- Upstream of valuable aquatic resource
- Minimal outlet alteration
- Erect persistent vegetation
- Sediment accretion present
- Occasional flooding or ponding

**Notes:**
Here is a list of attributes that can be combined for initial ranking of wetlands for shoreline stabilization and sediment and toxicant retention functions

## GIS Screening

- Nutrient Removal/ Transformation
- Upstream of valuable aquatic resource
- Non-riparian
- Minimal outlet alteration
- Ground cover vegetation in a low velocity environment

- Stormwater Storage/ Hydrologic Stabilization
- > 5 acres and 50% outside floodplain
- Non-riparian
- Minimal outlet alteration

**Notes:**
Here is a list of attributes that can be combined for initial ranking of wetlands for nutrient removal/transformation and stormwater and hydrologic functions.

## Watershed Setting

*“**wetland remnants of the development process may not constitute the best configuration of wetland type for a watershed”*
*	*
*“**has implications for the kind of *_*wetland planning*_* that might be required in some ...watersheds and ...mitigation practices in those watershed”*
*	**	**(NAS - Committee on Mitigating Wetland Losses) *

**Notes:**
Today we are primarily dealing with remnants of these wetland systems.  How we plan around wetlands is very important to the number of wetlands that we preserve

## Watershed Setting

- Advanced Identification of Wetlands (USEPA, USACE, local agencies)
- GIS screening tools
- Aerial photographs
- Field investigation

## Watershed Setting

- Many wetland systems have been altered, severed, fragmented
- Juxtaposition
- Interrelationships
- Flow patterns
- Many wetlands not functioning in their historical (pre-settlement) context
- How critical were interrelationships?
- Our best guess must consider landscape

**Notes:**
Today we are primarily dealing with remnants of these wetland systems.  How we plan around wetlands is very important to the number of wetlands that we preserve

## Watershed Setting

- Advanced Identification of Wetlands
- 4% of total # of wetlands in county designated as high habitat quality of biological functions (17,489 acres)
- 17,489 acres of high habitat quality accounted for 42% of wetland acres
- Approx. 10% of wetlands had notable watershed functions
- Your Project??

## Functional ModelDiversity of Wetland Vegetation

- _Variables_
- Plant species diversity
- _Wetland juxtaposition_
- _Structure_

- _Conditions_
- High, medium, low
- Connected  isolated
-     Pattern

## Example indicators (habitat diversity)

- Example indicators (habitat diversity)

## Database

- General Condition
- Size
- Location
- Disturbance
- Functional score
- Known Attributes

- Quality indicators
- Functional indicators
- Imperilment
- Vulnerability
- Viability

## Slide 41

**Notes:**
Here’s the beauty of using RAM on a wetland system.  We have identified high wetland wetlands, high functional value wetland and restorable areas.  Here also is an example of vulnerability or imperilment.  You may even recognize that the restorable wetland may lead to further degradation of the wetlands downstream if left unmanaged.

## Thank you

- Brian Smith
- Biology/Water Quality Specialist
- FHWA – National Resource Center