Wetland Delineation Report, Voyageurs National Park – Kettle Falls Area

Sharpe, Peter

The objective of this investigation was to respond to a request for technical assistance for a comprehensive delineation of wetland habitats subject to jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and all wetlands subject to National Park Service (NPS) procedures for implementing Director’s Order #77–1: Wetland Protection for National Park Service lands within the Kettle Falls recreation area of Voyageurs National Park. This work utilized the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Interim Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Northcentral and Northeast Region Version 2.0 (January 2012) as the primary methodology for making wetland determinations in the field. A total of 6 palustrine wetlands encompassing 9.57 ac (3.88 ha) of land were identified and delineated within the Kettle Falls study area boundary (70 ac; Fig. 1). Wetland habitats within the Kettle Falls study area were a mixture of forested, broad-leaved deciduous, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands with seasonally flooded/saturated hydrologic water regimes. These wetlands bordered existing roads, trails, buildings, or other infrastructure within the study area. With the exception of Wetland-6, which extended beyond our study area boundary to the Northeast, the majority of the wetland systems appeared to be “isolated” in terms of meeting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers criteria for potential jurisdiction. However all of these wetlands system would fall under NPS policy jurisdiction under DO #77-1, therefore the park is encouraged to share this report and recommendations with our service-wide wetland lead (Kevin Noon). No new waterway features (classified as riverine wetlands by Cowardin et al. 1979) were identified or delineated within the project study area. With regards to recommendations, the park should explore the possibility of avoiding or minimizing (≤ 0.10 ac) impacts to the mapped wetland systems described and delineated in this report. Should wetland impacts arising from a proposed action occur, Kevin Noon will be able to provide an official determination of DO #77-1 compliance and provide requirements upon receipt of this report, mapping, and supporting data.