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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWetland Evaluation - PLN General - 9/2/2003 F®restech LLC 9857 Miami Beach Road NW. Seabeck,WA 98380 (360)830-5564 www.littleforest.org Wetland Evaluation Lt 0 � '� TimE ' ForLo m Feuerstein JUL 1 A 2004 PERMIT ASSISTAN1 CENTER September 2, 2003 Parcel #22310-7790534 Mason County, Washington This report discusses the results of a site evaluation conducted on the above referenced property. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the category wetlands existing where the said property intersects with Blacksmith Lake. Based on the information discussed in this report, it was determined that the subject wetland qualifies as a Category III wetland. The evaluation and delineation was performed in compliance with Mason County "Critical Areas Ordinance"as well as with the methodology and procedures specified in the Washington State Wetlands Identification and Delineation Manual (Washington State Department of Ecology Publication#96-94,March 1997). This manual establishes methodology for evaluating wetlands based on the presence of hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils and wetland hydrology. Fieldwork was conducted on August 15,2003. Washington State Department of Natural Resources TRAX system has determined that no sensitive,threatened or endangered species of plant or animal exist within the immediate vicinity of the area under evaluation. SITE DESCRIPTION The area under consideration is a parcel of land 105 feet wide as it intersects with Blacksmith Lake. Topography of the uplands is near flat at lakeside and increases to near twenty-five percent a hundred feet from the shoreline. Contour is parallel with the shoreline. Blacksmith Lake is a body of water with wetlands characteristics along some of its shorelines. This evaluation considers the wetland areas and their buffers only. Vegetation occupying the wetland area is elk sedge, Labrador tea, spirea and cascara.. Vegetation occupying the ground layer of the upland buffer area is salal,red and evergreen huckleberries,rhododendron,and bracken ferns. Over-story vegetation occupying the upland area of this evaluation is western white pine,western hemlock, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine,red Alder,crabapple and cascara. Minor disturbance has occurred within the buffer of this shoreline wetland. Some vegetative clearing(a twenty foot strip)has occurred up to the wetland itself. For the Wetlands Rating Field Data Form Background Information: Name of Rater: G ,# I S1 Affiliation: L--LC.Date: 08-Z 03 Name of wetland(if known): _�16�IL Government Jurisdiction of wetland: �4 Location: 1/4 Section: N *, of 1/4 S: 10 Section: Township: 2-�) N Range: n 2 Lu Sources of Information: (Check all sources that apply) Site visit: v USGS Topo Map: i-- NWI map: Aerial Photo: Soils survey: t-- Other: Describe: When The Field Data form is complete enter Category here: . 0.1. High Quality Natural Wetland Circle Answers Answer this question if you have adequate information or experience to do so. If not find someone with the expertise to answer the questions. Then,if the answer to questions 1a, lb and lc are all NO,contact the Natural Heritage program of DNR. Ia.Human caused disturbances. Is there significant evidence of human-caused changes to topography or hydrology of the wetland as indicated by any of the following conditions? Consider only changes that may have taken place in the last 5 decades. The impacts of changes done earlier have probably been stabilized and the wetland ecosystem will be close to reaching some new equilibrium that may represent a high quality wetland. Ial. Upstream watershed> 12%impervious. Yes:go to Q.2 1a2.Wetland is ditched and water flow is not obstructed. Yes:go to Q.2 1a3.Wetland has been graded,filled,logged. Yes:go to Q.2 1 a4.Water in wetland is controlled by dikes,weirs,etc. Yes:go to Q.2 1 a5.Wetland is grazed. Yes: go to Q.2 1 a6. Other indicators of disturbance(list below) Yes:go to Q.2 N�Ib. 25 lb Are there populations of non-native plants which are currently present, YES: go to Q.2 cover more than 10%of the wetland,and appear to be invading native No:go to t populations? Briefly describe any non-native plant populations and Information source(s): le. Is there evidence of human-caused disturbances which have visibly YES: go to Q.2 degraded water quality. Evidence of the degradation of water quality 'NO'.-Possible Cat- include: direct(untreated)runoff from roads or parking lots; presence, contact DNR or historic evidence,of waste dumps;oily sheens;the smell of organic chemicals;or lifestock use. Briefly describe: Q.2. Irreplaceable Ecological Functions: -.-- Does the wetland: � r( O to all_go to Q j • have at least 1/4 acre of organic soils deeper than 16 inches YES go to 2a and the wetland is relatively undisturbed;OR [IIf the answer is NO because the wetland is disturbed briefly describe: Indicators of disturbance may include: -Wetland has been graded,filled,logged; - Organic soils on the surface are dried-out for more than half of the year; -Wetland receives direct stormwater runoff from urban or agricultural areas.]; OR ® have a forested class greater than I acre; YES:Go to 2b OR ® have characteristics of an estuarine system; YES: Go to 2c OR 49 have eel grass,floating or non-floating kelp beds? YES: Go to 2d 2a. Bogs and Fens Are any of the three following conditions met for the area of organic soil? 2a.1. Are Sphagnum mosses a common ground cover(>30%) and the cover of invasive species(see Table 3)is less than 10%? Is the area of sphagnum mosses and deep organic soils> 1/2 acre? YES: Category I Is the area of sphagnum mosses and deep organic soils 1/4-1/2 acre? YES: Category 11 NO: Go to 2a_3 2a.2_Is there an area of organic soil which has an emergent class with at least one species from Table 2, and cover of invasive species is< 10%(see Table 3). Is the area of herbaceous plants and deep organic soils> 1/2 acre? YES: Category I Is the area of herbaceous plants and deep organic soils 1/4--1/2 acre? YES: Category H NO: Go to 2a.3 26 2a.3. Is the vegetation a mixture of only herbaceous plants and Sphagnum mosses with no scrub/shrub or forested classes? Is the area of herbaceous plants,Sphagnum,and deep organic soils> V2 acre? YES: Category I Is the area of herbaceous plants,Sphagnum,and deep organic soils 1/4-1/2 acre? YES: Category H NO:Go to Q. Q.2b. Mature forested wetland. 2b_l. Does 50%of the cover of upper forest canopy consist of evergreen YES:Category I trees older than 80 years or deciduous trees older than 50 years? NO:Go to 2b2 Note:The size of trees is often not a measure of age,and size cannot be used as a surrogate for age(see guidance). 2b.2. Does 50%of the cover of forest canopy consist of evergreen trees older YES: Go to 2b.3 than 50 years,AND is the structural diversity of the forest high as NO:Go to Q.3 characterized by an additional layer of trees 29-49' tall, shrubs 6'-29, tall,and a herbaceous groundcover? 2b.3. Does<25%of the areal cover in the herbaceous/groundcover or YES:Category I the shrub layer consist of invasive/exotic plant species from the list on p. 19? NO:Go to Q.3 Q.2c. Estuarine wetlands. 2cl. Is the wetland listed as National Wildlife Refuge,National Park, YES:Category I National Estuary Reserve,Natural Area Preserve,State Park,or NO: Go to 2c.2 Educational,Environmental or Scientific Reserves designated under WAC 332-30-151?. . . . . 2c.2. Is the wetland>5 acres; . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES:Category I Note:If an area contains patches of salt tolerant vegetation that are 1)less than 600 feet apart and that are separated by mudflats that go dry on a Mean Low Tide,or 2)separated by tidal channels that are less than 100 feet wide; all the vegetated areas are to be considered together-in calculating the wetland area. or is the wetland 1-5 acres; . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES: Go to 2c.3 or is the wetland< 1 acre?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES: Go to 2c.4 27 2c.3. Does the wetland meet at least 3 of the following 4 criteria: . . . . . . . . YES:Category I NO:Category H -minimum existing evidence of human related disturbance such as diking,ditching,filling,cultivation,grazing or the presence of non- native plant species(see guidance for definition); -surface water connection with tidal saltwater or tidal freshwater; -at least 75%of the wetland has a IW buffer of ungrazed pasture, open water,shrub or forest; -has at least 3 of the following features: low marsh;high marsh;tidal channels; lagoon(s);woody debris; or contiguous freshwater wetland 2c.4.Does the wetland meet all of the four criteria under 26. (above)?. . YES:Category H NO:Category III Q.2d. Eel Grass and Delp Beds. 2d1. Are eel grass beds present?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES:Category I NO:go to 2d2 2d2. Are there floating or non-floating kelp bed(s)present with greater than YES:Category I 50%macro algal cover in the month of August or September?. . . . . . . . . NO:Category 11 0.3. Category IV wetlands. 3a. Is the wetland:less than I acre ram, hydrologically isolated gLa comprised of one vegetated class that is dominated(>80% areal cover) YES:Category IV by one species from Table 3(page 19)or Table 4(page 20) �A3b 3b. Is the wetland:less than two acres and,hydrologically isolated,' with one vegetated class,and>90%of areal cover is any combination of YES:Category IV species from Table 3 (page 19) NO: o to 3c.Is the wetland excavated from upland 11W a pond smaller than 1 acre YES:Category IV without a surface water connection to streams,lakes,rivers,or other NO:go to Q. wetland, and has<0.1 acre of vegetation. 28 QA. Significant habitat value. Answer all questions and enter data requeste Circle scares that qualify d 4a. Total wetland area a.r S Z lm Estimate area,select from choices in the near-right column, and scor e in the >200 6 far column: 40-200 5 10-40 4 Enter acreage of wetland here: 16 acres,and source: 5 - 10 CD 1 -5 2 0.1 - 1 1 <0.1 0 4b. Wetland classes: Circle the wetland classes below that qualify: n Water if the area of open water is> 1/4 acre Aquatic Beds: if the area of aquatic beds> 114 acre, gent: if the area of emergent class is> 1/4 acre, #of classes Points 1 . . . . . . 0 Scrub-Shrub: if the area of scrub-shrub class is> 1/4 acre, 2.• . " 3 .. . . . . .6 Forested: if area of forested class is> 114 acre, 4. . . . . . . 8 5 .. . . . . .10 Add the number of wetland classes, above,that qualify,and then score according to the columns at right. e.g.If there are 4 classes(aquatic beds,open water,emergent& scrub-shrub),you would circle 8 points in the far right column. 4c. Plant species diversity. For each wetland class(at right)that qualifies in Class #species in class Points 4b above,count the number of different plant species Aquatic Bed 1 0 you can find that cover more than 5%of the ground. 2 1 You do not have to name them. 3 2 >3 3 Score in column at far right: e.g.If a wetland has an aquatic bed class with 3 species, Emergent 1 0 an emergent class with 4 species and a scrub-shrub <7D CID class with 2 species you would circle 2,2,and 1 in the 4-5 2 far column. >5 3 Note:Any plant species with a cover of>5% qualifies for points within a class,even those Scrub-Shrub 1 that are not of that class. 3-4 2 >4 3 Forested 1 0 2 1 3-4 2 >4 3 20 4d. Structural diversity. If the wetland has a forested class,add I point if each of the following classes is present within ffie-forested class and is larger than 1/4 acre: -trees>59 tall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES- i -trees 20'-49'tall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES - I -shrubs. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YES - I -herbaceous ground cover. . . . . . . . . . . . . YES - I Also add I point if there is any"open water"or"aquatic bed"class immediately next to the forested area(ie.there is no scrub/shrub or emergent vegetation between them). YES- I 4e. Decide from the diagrams below whether interspersion between High-5 wetland classes is high,moderate,low or none? If you think the Moderate-3 amount of interspersion falls in between the diagrams score accordingly Lowe (i.e.a moderately high amount of insterspersion would score a 4, None-0 while a moderately low amount would score a 2) ........ none low low . . . , . . . . . moderate moderate high 4f. Habitat features. Answer questions below,circle features that apply, and score to right: Is there evidence that the open or standing water was caused by beavers YES= 2 Is a heron rookery located within 300'? YES= I Are raptor-nest/slocated within 300'? YES= I Are there at least 3 standing dead trees(snags)per acre greater than 10"in diameter at"breast height"(DBH)?. YES= I Are there at least 3 downed logs per acre with a diameter >6" for at least 19 in length? XES=_I. Are there areas(vegetated or unvegetated)within the wetland that are ponded for at least 4 months out of the year,and the wetland has not qualified as having an open water class in Question 4b. ? YES=2 30 4i. Connection to other habitat areas: Select the description which best matches the site being evaluated. -Is the wetland connected to,or part of,a riparian corridor at least 100'wide connecting two or more wetlands;or,is there an upland connection present>100' wide with good forest or shrub cover (>25%cover)connecting it with a Significant Habitat Area? YES=5 -Is the wetland connected to any other Habitat Area with either 1)a forested/shrub corridor< 100'wide,or 2) a a corridor that is> 100'wide,but has a low vegetative cover less than 6 feet in height? YES=3 -Is the wetland connected to,or a part of,a riparian corridor between 50- 100'wide with scrub/shrub or forest cover connection to other wetlands? YES=3 -Is the wetland connected to any other Habitat Area with narrow corridor(<100') of low vegetation(<Gin height)? YES= 1 - Is the wetland and its buffer(if the buffer is less than 50'wide) completely isolated by development(urban,residential with a density greater than 2/acre,or industrial)? YES=0 7- Now add the scores circled (for Q.Sa -Q.Si above) to get a total. Is the Total greater than or equal to 22 points? YES=Category II NO=Category III 32 I The analysis,conclusions, and recommendations presented in this report are based on conditions observed in the field and my best professional judgment. II Earl Kong September 2, 2003 Wetlands Consultant Forestech LLC