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Wetland Mediation.

Started by Jeff, July 05, 2022, 09:00:30 AM

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nativewolf

Quote from: mudfarmer on July 05, 2022, 06:20:14 PM
Beavers are the original Wetland Mediators. Definitely recommend reading some modern literature about them, one book is
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
by Ben Goldfarb

Can't find right now or remember the names of decent other books/pubs.

One big role they play is to prevent the channel incision that nativewolf mentioned. Also hugely important in places like out west with the huge water issues of today.

Thanks WDH for your breakdown, this method of soil and plants used to determine wetland designations is how it was explained to me by a state Biologist at a recent stream crossing workshop here in NY. Here is an ACE publication https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/regulatory/Forms/Recognizing_Wetlands.pdf
We will work with a group that specifically creates beaver like structures to recreate wetlands.  
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Ianab

Quote from: nativewolf on July 06, 2022, 05:35:06 AMDepends on the State for monitoring and compliance.  Here the power is in the state Dept of Env Quality (DEQ).   Someone has to have responsibility for ongoing local compliance and supervision and that's usually outsourced to the state.  That's why the pictures don't say contact the Corps


I imagine that there could be local laws and programs that go above and beyond the Federal Regulations? The National rules would be the minimum, if State or Local Govt want to apply rules or create programs that comply with, but enhance the Fed rules, they can. 
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nativewolf

The reasons for that are complex but mostly the Corps of Army Engineers doesn't have the ability to monitor most of the sites, there are lots and lots of small banks out there.  In fact in PA they are working on sites down to 10 acres or so.   The other reason is that Congress wants the Corps to have a state entity involved.  Usually that is a state agency dept of environmental X.  The bank developers have to find someone to do the long term monitoring because these sites are not like CREP.  A wetland mitigation bank is supposed to stay wetland forever.  They are checked via site visits and imagery on a regular basis.  

In Virginia an NGO may also be able to take on the long term monitoring of conservation related easements.  Also the title to the property includes restrictions.  In most states in the USA the land records are recorded at the county level under some process established by the state.  

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Don P

One thing with doing it at the state level, we are under the Chesapeake Bay act. Our creeks feed the Gulf of Mexico :D. That said the riparian buffers and sedimentation requirements that come with that are a good idea, if not a total pain in the rear. Cows in the creeks are our biggest problem. Even if the landowner is on board it is nigh on impossible to fence the critters out of all the water. As a contractor I cannot tear up more than 10,000 sf without being a registered disturber and following BMP's. I can look over my berms and silt fences, across the creek at the pigs wallowing and farmers plowing, right above that same creek. We try not to study on that wisdom too hard. 

Nobody remembers because it has been the HS ball field and shopping center parking lot for so long in town. That whole bottom used to be a lake 100 years ago. I've worked on what was the ice house nearby. They recently tore down and rebuilt the grocery store and parking lot. I'm guessing they fell under something I've been warned of "no water leaves the site". Under the parking lot is a large drainfield. I've seen drawings of parking areas on many feet of chambers. If we keep conveniently running water away the aquifers will not recharge.

WDH

Once all the credits are sold on the banks that I was involved with, title to the property is transferred to a 3rd party monitoring agency to ensure that the bank is maintained according to the terms of the mitigation banking agreement in perpetuity.  In our case it is a non-profit Environmental organization.  For example, a bank in Louisiana that was adjacent to one I was developing was managed by The Nature Conservancy.  Perpetuity is a long time.  
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peakbagger

The policy that makes me wonder is wetlands mitigation for the ditches that are built next to highways. They were not wetlands before, they were designed to drain water away from the highway yet they must be mitigated when the highway is expanded to additional lanes. When they are done adding the lane there will be new ditches that will form wetlands but they do not count. 


sprucebunny

I ran into that same thing when a solar development company did a wetlands and vernal pool survey on my land. Of 21 vernal pools, 20 were next to the winter truck road ( "borrow pits ") That would make them 3-4 years old. And they flagged every skidder rut ( almost... ) as being wet. The land is sloped, the wet is caused by compaction. 
I was disappointed that it was flagged so heavily for wet and ultimately dropped by the solar people.
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Ron Scott

Yes, there is to be "no net loss of wetlands". Good explanation of the process by WDH and others. Some states such as Michigan can be given overseeing authority of the Federal Wetland process if they meet and apply agreed to Federal procedures and compliance.

Wetlands are priceless to our ecosystems, and it is difficult to replicate their natural hydric soils and vegetation acreage wise.
~Ron

Log-it-up

I like all the points made, I personally think they are going over board with the wet land thing, I know a few years ago VT classified wetland as any parcel that was saturated 8" deep for more than 12 consecutive days in one year that is a lot of the state in September and once a area is brought to the state attention it's on the state map forever do not touch, do not look at it but pay full boat in taxes.
As I drive down the interstate (at a much slower pace this year to conserve fuel) I have took more notice to what look like natural watershed to one of our main rivers the Winooski, have been blocked but I89 interstate that the government has put into place cause excessive amounts of so called wet land,standing stagnant water. Which brings me to one of the complaints that arises every year why is lake Champlain so low? Why is the fishing not what it used to be? 
Listening to a few of elders in my town that are now in there 70/80 when they where kid before the interstates and the government made wet land on either side, the rivers where narrow and deeper and the fishing was good 
I did not excell in school i went to the university of hard knocks with led to a career of excavation and timber cutting wich I take pride in and respect anybody in those trades ( and to be honest I respect the working person no matter what they do it takes all kinds to make the world turn) but back to my point is that from what I learned in science class if I remember right is that shallow water will heat quicker and hold it's temp longer so with all this shallow stagnant water that people are trying to create is slowing the flow to the rivers and lakes wich in turns in my mind is heating the water more, one of the big things you hear on the news is the rise of ocean temperature 
In my opinion I think they should dredge the rivers and release some of the standing bodies of water,I do agree we need the wetland for the eco system but no need to add protect the ones we have 
Just my thoughts

nativewolf

Dredging is typically a double edged sort of weapon to addressing issues, especially in shallow coastal waters.  

I'm curious as to the idea that fishing is not good on the lake, I don't live there obviously but just googled up and trout breeding is so strong the state of VT cut off stocking from hatcheries because they feared over stocking.  Or is it that you are targeting some species (bass? salmon?) .  Anyway the wetland remediation would normally happen far upstream of something like this lake and would serve to protect the waters itself.  We've been invited up to stay with friends that have a family campground there but I'm due in for cancer surgery so no go this summer.  Maybe next?  Hope so.  I wanted to do a bit of fishing.

https://www.weather.gov/btv/lakeLevel?year=2022   That's the lake levels .  Can't help you there, seems normal or as normal as any natural thing is.
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caveman

This thread has grown legs since Jeff posted a picture of the hay field.  In my part of the world, we have karst topography, with porous limestone beneath the surface and huge, underground aquifers.  Years ago, dredging and ditching were the normal practices to create more pasture, farmland or inhabitable spaces.

I live on the edge of the Green Swamp, which is a major recharge area for the Floridan Aquifer.  We are limited to one residence per 10 acres here now (in 1993, I was able to get a waiver due to it being family land).  The strain on the water as a resource now is much more than it was 100 years ago.  Phosphate mining, agriculture, golf courses, and people use a lot of water - most of which is pumped out of the aquifer.  In 1918, the year my maternal great grandmother died of the Spanish Flu, there were less than 900,000 people living in all of Florida.  Last year, our population was nearly 23,000,000 and we had over 91,000,000 visitors.  All of these folks use a lot more water than the average person did in 1918 due to frequent bathing, flushing toilets and lawn irrigation, all of which were less common in 1918.  Where do all of these folks keep coming from?

Large landowners are able to sell development rights because their land is valued as a natural resource for water, plants and animals.  When I was on the soil board, sometimes grants/cost sharing would come available for landowners to install solar wells, cross fencing, plant longleaf pines or other things deemed advantageous to the soil and water of our area.  It still amazes me of the wetland destruction that can take place if the owners have enough money and influence and of course, the land for mitigation.

To add to this, the state FFA land judging contest in 2017 was held near Plant City on the Audobon Ranch.  The water table had to be provided to the students instead of them looking for stripping or rust deposits in the soil to make that determination due to the water, to supply Tampa's needs, was pumped so far down.  The soils were spodasols, the seasonal high water table should have been above the spodic layer (only a foot or so beneath the surface).  The seasonal high water table for several years prior to 2017 were 10-12' below the surface.  The potentiometric head has dropped so much in some areas nearby that springs have dried up.  Kissingen Springs, near Bartow, Florida dried up around 1950 due to excess pumping from the aquifer.

The area pictured is off of Dale Mabry, in north Tampa, not far from the Buc's home stadium.  A bank or some other building was being built in a pond cypress swamp.  At least we were able to get the logs.


 

 

 

   
Caveman

nativewolf

Crazy that they'd build a bank on a cypress stand site. 
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caveman

I was very surprised that they would be building anything there too.  A friend of mine called and said we could have some free cypress logs if we could get them loaded and hauled off.  
Caveman

wisconsitom

I can't believe how rapacious land use is in Florida.  Really tough for a guy like me to see.  Clearly, cypress stands and oh my gosh-pine flatwoods have no standing value.

Scrub?  Forget about it!  That's a new Walmart!
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