Details - Southeast Montana wetland assessment : developing and refining Montana's wetland assessment and monitoring strategy

Southeast Montana wetland assessment

Title

Southeast Montana wetland assessment : developing and refining Montana's wetland assessment and monitoring strategy

By

Newlon, Karen Rachel, , author.

Ramstead, Karissa M., , author.
Hahn, Jamul, , author.
United States. Environmental Protection Agency, , addressee.
Montana Natural Heritage Program.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

Helena, MT, Montana Natural Heritage Program, 2013

Notes

"October 2013"

Incomplete Contents: 1.0 Introduction -- 2.0 Study Area -- 3.0 Methods -- 4.0 Results -- Discussion -- Literature Cited -- Appendix A. National Wetland Inventory (NWI) attribute codes included in the southeastern Montana basin0wide wetland assessment sample frame -- Appendix B. Palustrine National Wetland Inventory (NWI) attribute codes excluded from the southeastern Montana basin-wide wetland assessment sample frame --Appendix C. Lacustrine and riverine National Wetland Inventory (NWI) attribute codes excluded from the southeastern Montana basin-wide wetland assessment sample frame -- Appendix D. Scoring procedure for calculating stresor impact ratings (sensu Faber-Langendoen et al. 2011). -- Appendix E. Scoring formulas for Level 2 attribute and overall wetland condition scores -- Appendix F. Terminology, Description, and calculation of the floristic quality assessment metrics.

This report summarizes the results of our third statewide rotating basin assessment, focusing on wetlands in southeastern Montana. We assessed wetland condition within nine watersheds at multiple spatial scales. We conducted Level 1 GIS analyses that produced: 1) wetland landscape profiles, which summarize information on wetland abundance, type, and extent within a given watershed; and 2) a landscape characterization, which characterizes the anthropogenic stressors such as roads and land uses, as well as general information regarding wetland landscape context, using readily available digital datasets. We carried out Level 2 assessments to provide rapid, field-based assessments of wetland condition based on four attributes: 1) Landscape Context; 2) Vegetation; 3) Physicochemical; and 4) Hydrology. Finally, Level 3 intensive assessments provided detailed information on the structure and composition of wetland vegetation at a subset of sites. This multi-tiered framework allows for the incorporation of multiple scales of assessment, integrating landscape-level information, ambient wetland condition, and site-specific data.