Assessing Wetland Functions and Values with Applications to the Voluntary Stewardship Program

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 @ 1-4 pm

Facilitator: Levi Keesecker, Natural Resource Scientist, WSCC
Presenters:

• Amy Yahnke, Washington Dept. of Ecology;Connor Racette, Washington Dept. of Ecology;
• Rick Mraz, Washington Dept. of Ecology;
• Rachel Maggi, Natural Resources Conservation Service;
• Jacob Taylor, Spokane Conservation District;
• Matt Stevenson, CORE GIS; Meghan Halabisky, University of Washington

Demonstrating the effects of agricultural conservation practices on wetland functions and values is an important component of many county and conservation district monitoring efforts, particularly for counties participating in the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP). This virtual session will cover a variety of approaches used to assess wetland functions and values with an emphasis on applications to watershed-scale monitoring and VSP. During this informational session we will cover the following topics:

• Overview of the Washington Dept. of Ecology’s field-based Wetlands Rating System
• Results from the Dept. of Ecology’s Statewide Wetland Mapping Inventory
• Pro’s and con’s of using the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Technical Note 14 for field-based wetlands assessments
• Overview and introduction to emerging remote sensing tools that estimate wetland presence/absence and functioning.

REGISTER HERE