West Wide Wetland Functional Assessment

 

On October 24th and 25th of 2017, GSS staff traveled to the BLM headquarters (National Operations Center) near Denver Colorado for a meeting to discuss the application of wetland functional assessments across the semi-arid and arid western landscape. 

In addition to GSS (Hannah Hutchins, Andy Robertson, and Kevin Stark) and BLM AIM staff, skilled wetland scientists and landscape ecologists were in attendance from the following organizations:Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Montana Natural Heritage Program, New Mexico Environment Department, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, and Utah Geological Survey. 

This collaborative meeting was designed to open up dialog regarding current wetland mapping and classification methods used across the west and then discuss how to apply consistent hydrogeomorphic characteristics to wetlands which will then feed a standardized wetland functional assessment in areas that need updated data.