 Regions of the Regional Supplements to the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual. Source: http://www.usace.army.mil | One of the first questions I am usually asked is: Do you work outside of Arkansas? The answer is a big YES! There are 10 regional supplements (areas) to the Corps of Engineers 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual and I have primarily worked in 4 of those 10. The four I have worked in are the Great Plains (yellow), Midwest (light blue), Eastern Mountains & Piedmont (gray), and Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Plain (purple) - see map on the left. The middle swath of the U.S. is where most of my work has occurred. |
Wetland delineation work reaches across conventional state lines and assesses the unique characteristics of the region's different flora, soils and hydrological indicators.The Regional Supplements were developed by the US. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to provide technical guidance to address regional wetland characteristics and improve the accuracy and efficiency of wetland delineation procedures. The final release dates of the regional supplements (areas) in which I work are as follows:
Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Plain Region (Version 2.0), November 2010
Eastern Mountains & Piedmont Region (Version 2.0), April 2012
Great Plains Region (Version 2.0), March 2010
Midwest Region (Version 2.0), August 2010
In general, the differences among the supplements is mainly reflected in different rankings of the primary or secondary hydrology indicators, hydric soils indicators (differing by region), and indicator status of the vegetation as assigned in the National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) –which has been administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 2006. The latest NWPL Regional Plant Lists were released in 2016.
So, the simple question regarding where a wetland delineator works is a bit more complicated than it initially appears. I hope you now have a clearer picture of the aspects involved in a wetland delineator’s regional “work place”.
- JMB
Updated: December 2018
Since this was posted, I have worked on wetland delineations within the Arid West Regional Supplement area (pink). Western WOTUS are very interesting!
Atlantic & Gulf Coastal Plain Region (Version 2.0), November 2010
Eastern Mountains & Piedmont Region (Version 2.0), April 2012
Great Plains Region (Version 2.0), March 2010
Midwest Region (Version 2.0), August 2010
In general, the differences among the supplements is mainly reflected in different rankings of the primary or secondary hydrology indicators, hydric soils indicators (differing by region), and indicator status of the vegetation as assigned in the National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) –which has been administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 2006. The latest NWPL Regional Plant Lists were released in 2016.
So, the simple question regarding where a wetland delineator works is a bit more complicated than it initially appears. I hope you now have a clearer picture of the aspects involved in a wetland delineator’s regional “work place”.
- JMB
Updated: December 2018
Since this was posted, I have worked on wetland delineations within the Arid West Regional Supplement area (pink). Western WOTUS are very interesting!
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