Wetland Delineations

Click on the buttons below to view specific delineation projects or read on to learn more about what wetland delineations are:

The Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual defines wetlands as "areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.  Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas."

Creating wetland areas can help preserve and restore the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of an area.  Many times, setting aside certain amounts of land for wetland areas is required for development and rezoning.  Correctly defining the boundaries of wetland is important in order to protect the safety of the waters without excessive restriction of property use rights.

Defining the boundaries of a wetland area require extensive sampling and analysis of the vegetation, soils, and hydrology of an area.  If specific wetland criteria are met, then that area can be designated a wetland.  Once sampling has been done for a large area, the boundaries are determined by the sampling areas that fulfill the wetland criteria. 

Sometimes, defining a wetland is a bit more complicated due to human impact or other natural events which have disrupted the area, such as construction of levees, irrigation, or fire damage.  This is called an atypical situation. When an atypical situation exists make it more difficult to determine whether or not a wetland is present on the site or the boundaries of the wetland even if a wetland is present. Specialized methods need to be utilized for the delineation in when atypical situations exist.

Huffman and Carpenter, Inc. has extensive experience with atypical situations; it is a specialty of the firm.  The Foothill/Virginia project listed above is one example of the firm's work with an atypical situation where irrigation caused the site to be classified and regulated as a wetland.