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Links to Ecology's Guidance Documents For Protecting and Managing
Wetlands Washington State Wetlands Identification and Delineation
Manual, March 1997
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/9694.html
This is Washington State’s official manual for delineating wetlands. The edge of
a wetland is determined based on three “parameters”: water, plants and soil. The
manual provides users with guidelines and methods to determine whether an area
is a wetland and to delineate its boundaries for purposes of compliance with
federal Clean Water Act, state Shoreline Management act, or local regulations
adopted under the Growth Management Act.
Washington State Wetland Rating System for Western Washington, August 2004
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0406025.html
This rating system is designed to differentiate between wetlands in western
Washington based on their sensitivity to disturbance, their significance, their
rarity, our ability to replace them, and the functions they provide. Wetlands
are grouped into four categories that are used to determine regulatory criteria
for avoidance, width of buffers, and mitigation ratios.
Wetlands in Washington State – Volume 1: A synthesis of the Science, March
2005
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/bas_wetlands/volume1final.html
Under the Growth Management Act, local governments are required to use the best
available science when reviewing and revising their policies and regulations on
wetlands. The state departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife developed this
comprehensive synthesis of the science regarding freshwater wetlands to assist
local governments.
Wetlands in Washington State – Volume 2: Guidance for Protecting and Managing
Wetlands, April 2005
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/bas_wetlands/volume2final.html
Volume 2 translates the science synthesized in Volume 1 into guidance for local
governments in protecting and managing wetlands. An advisory team of wetlands
scientists and planning staff from local governments provided feedback on the
guidance. Ecology also met with members of various organizations from the
business and environmental communities to gather comments.
Guidance on Wetland Mitigation in Washington – Parts 1 and 2, April 2004
(draft)
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0406013a.html, and
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0406013b.html
This document compiles existing information on wetland mitigation, including
currently available science and current agency policies on mitigation. It
provides an overview of the role of the agencies play in regulating wetlands and
explains some of the factors that go into the agencies’ wetland permitting
decisions in regards to mitigation.
Appendix 8-C Guidance on Widths of Buffers and Ratios for Compensatory
Mitigation for Use with the Western Washington Wetland Rating System
(Wetlands in Washington State – Volume 2: Guidance for Protecting and Managing
Wetlands, April 2005)
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/bas_wetlands/vol2final/Appendix%208-C_Volume%202_.pdf
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