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Project Location:
Title:
Description:
Utilizing Kansas’ state comprehensive plan, Kansas Wetlands and Aquatic Resources Plan, the Kansas Water Office is working to develop a comprehensive, standardized process for identifying, assessing and prioritizing wetland and vulnerable aquatic resources in the state of Kansas. They are developing a wetland assessment and prioritization method in two pilot watersheds intended to complement and implement high priority watershed based goals, projects and policies statewide: • Recognition of the importance of wetlands in overall proper functioning of watersheds; • Acknowledgement of the loss of approximately 50% of pre-settlement wetlands in the state, contributing to today’s degraded watesheds • Importance of comprehensive wetland assessments in Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) plans; • Lack of up-to-date information about the location, condition and function of wetlands in watersheds of the state; and • Need for a standardized method to allow the state and local watershed groups to identify and prioritize wetlands for restoration, protection and enhancement. This process is intended to customize and refine existing wetland assessment methodologies to create a working standard for all agencies and watershed planning and stakeholder groups in the state of Kansas. This methodology is intended to allow state and local watershed groups to identify and prioritize wetlands for restoration, protection and enhancement. Inherent in the methodology is a consideration of individual and composite wetland function at watershed scales, while also allowing for assignment of functional priority to drive the identification of implementation projects by local stakeholder or agency expert groups, depending on resource objectives. They are building on functional assessment capabilities developed with FY-08 WPDG by incorporating field-based qualitative functional metrics described in the Wetland Evaluation Technique (WET method; Adamus et al. 1991) into Tiner’s GIS-based, landscape-level Watershed-based Preliminary Assessment of Wetland Functions approach (W-PAWF; Tiner 2005). Aerial photography from 2007 was evaluated to provide coverage of areas on the landscape that were wet that spring/summer. This together with the existing layers and topographic wetness index (TWI) modeling has greatly improved the ability of the process method to provide a prioritization of potential wetlands. This project is expected to enhance the ability of local watershed groups to assess their watersheds for wetland presence, condition and function. With this information, resources will be more effectively targeted resulting in increased and more effective wetland protection. By accomplishing the goals of the project decision makers at both the local and state levels will gain an increased appreciation of wetlands, not only for sediment reduction, but for other functions.
Core Element:
Cross-Cutting
Monitoring and Assessment
Regulation
Restoration and Protection
Water Quality Standards
Grantee Classification:
Inter-Government/Inter-Tribal Organization
Local Government
Not-for-Profit Organization
State
Territory
Tribe
Total Cost:
Associated Grants
Grant Number
Grant Project Title
Cost
Attachment
CD97714501
Development of a Statewide Wetland Restoration and Prioritization Process for Kansas
$200,028.00
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