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Do You Recognize a Wetland when You See One?
This checklist provides some general questions that can help you determine if a wetland is present at the site you want to enhance or develop. For some of the questions (especially 5–7), you may want to refer to the Corps’s Wetlands Delineation Manual.
A “Yes” answer to any of the questions may indicate that the area is a wetland.
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| 1. Is the site in a floodplain or otherwise has low spots in which water stands at or above the soil surface during the growing season? | ❒ ❒ |
| 2. Does the site have plant communities that commonly occur in areas having standing water for part of the growing season (e.g., cypress-gum swamps, cordgrass marshes, cattail marshes, sphagnum bogs)? | ❒ ❒ |
| 3. Does the site have soil called peats or mucks? | ❒ ❒ |
| 4. Is the site periodically flooded by tides, even if only by strong wind-driven or spring tides? | ❒ ❒ |
| 5. Are any of the wetland vegetation indicators growing on the site? | ❒ ❒ |
| 6. Are any of the wetland soil indicators found on the site? | ❒ ❒ |
| 7. Are any of the wetland hydrology indicators Identified on the site? | ❒ ❒ |
| 8. Does the National Wetlands Inventory or Local Wetlands Inventory map show a wetland on the property? | ❒ ❒ |
| 9. Does the county soil survey map show hydric soils within the site? | ❒ ❒ |
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Yes No |
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| 10. Are there natural drainage channels or swales? | ❒ ❒ |
| 11. Is the ground soggy underfoot in the spring? | ❒ ❒ |
| 12. Are there depressions where water pools for a week or more in the spring? | ❒ ❒ |
| 13. Do you avoid the area with heavy equipment in the spring to keep from getting bogged down? | ❒ ❒ |
| 14. Would you need to ditch the site to dry it out for planting or building? | ❒ ❒ |
| 15. Are seeps or springs present? | ❒ ❒ |
| 16. Dig an 18-inch deep hole and remove a clump of soil. Are there rusty red “mottles” on a gray background? | ❒ ❒ |
| 17. Is there evidence of surface scour from water flowing over the site? | ❒ ❒ |
| 18. Is there a drift line of leaves or debris caught in the stems of shrubs or lodged along an elevation contour? | ❒ ❒ |