Wetland Working Group Meeting – CM Approved
Hi Utah Planners! Below is information for the next Wetland Working Group meeting on December 1st from 10 AM to 12 Noon. There will be several presentations on local ordinances for protecting wetlands, as well as one on wetland delineation – see e-mail below from Diane Menuz with the Utah Geological Survey. At the bottom of Diane’s e-mail, there is also a link to an “Urban Wetlands Protection and Restoration Guide.” Thanks, Zac Covington
Hello and happy fall! Here is the latest wetland news from UGS. Wetland Working Group Meeting ReminderThe next Wetland Working Group meeting will be on December 1 from 10 am to 12 pm. We have three great talks focusing on wetland mapping and local protections for wetlands. The meeting will be held remotely via Google Meet. Our speakers include: Pete Goodwin, Utah Geological Survey (UGS), discussing enhanced wetland spatial data for Cache County and how it can be crosswalked to wetland function Zac Covington, Bear River Association of Governments, discussing the results of a recent review he conducted on local ordinances for wetland protection as part of developing recommendations for river corridor preservation in Cache Valley Kelsey Christiansen and Amir Caus, Summit County, discussing implementation of a wetland buffer ordinance in Summit County Wetland Working Group Fall Meeting Wednesday, December 1 · 10:00am – 12:00pm Google Meet joining info Video call link: https://meet.google.com/qme-pocp-ypt Or dial: (US) +1 614-594-3679 PIN: 397 457 733# More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/qme-pocp-ypt?pin=1071947946248 Utah Wetland Stakeholder SurveyPlease take a few minutes to respond to a Utah wetlands stakeholder survey I put together. Most of the questions are about how well the wetland working group meetings and stakeholders are meeting your needs and whether you have ideas for improvement. Please fill out the survey by November 24 so I have time to summarize the results before the December 1 meeting. And pass the survey along to others who might be interested in providing feedback. You can access the survey here: https://forms.gle/b7UdDksERDsTRVfC7. Feedback Requested on Wetland Plant BookThe UGS received funding from the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a book of common wetland plants in Utah’s Great Basin region (including the Wasatch Front, Great Salt Lake, and West Desert). The book will be modeled after guides developed by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program; you can see their free resources here: https://cnhp.colostate.edu/library/field-guides/colorado-wetland-field-guide. As we work to finalize our list of species to include, we’d love to hear your input on the book. Specifically, how do you envision using such a resource and what types of plants should we include to make the resource the most valuable to you? For example, would you or your organization use the book for wetland delineations, more detailed floristic studies, to ID plants as part of restoration planning or restoration monitoring? Is it most important to include the most widespread species, ones that tend to be abundant, or species with special status such as sensitive plants or noxious weeds? Are there other attributes that we should consider when selecting species? Please email Miles McCoy-Sulentic at mmccoy-sulentic@utah.gov with any feedback by November 24. Central Basin Open File ReportThe UGS is very close to finalizing Open File Report 738, Central Basin and Range Ecoregion Wetland Assessment and Landscape Analysis. This report presents the results of a wetland assessment project in the Central Basin and Range ecoregion, focusing on the Great Salt Lake and Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake (“Sevier Basin”) HUC6 watersheds to complement work previously done by UGS in the ecoregion. The report presents the results of field surveys throughout the region, description of common wetland types, and analysis of surface water and groundwater levels over the last 30 to 60 years. The report will be available on the UGS Publications webpage (https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/publications/) within the next few weeks; search by author (McCoy-Sulentic or Menuz) or “Central Basin wetlands.” Permitting WorkshopWild Utah Project and Trout Unlimited hosted a webinar in the spring on the federal Programmatic General Permit 10 (PGP-10), which is required for projects affecting streams, including low-tech stream restoration projects like installing beaver dam analogues. The workshop discussed changes in the PGP-10 and led participants through completing Utah’s Joint Stream Alteration Permit Application. A recording of the video is available on YouTube for those that may have missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcJ50-9aQCU. Resources for Local GovernmentsThe Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) recently came out with Urban Wetlands Protection and Restoration Guide. This guide describes wetland mapping, assessment, and prioritization activities, policy tools, and funding mechanisms to support wetlands in developed areas and includes recommendations for both local and state agencies. You can find this resource and other ASWM resources aimed at local governments on their website here: https://www.aswm.org/publications/aswm-publications/local-government.
Please contact Diane Menuz, Utah Geological Survey’s Wetland Program Coordinator, at dmenuz@utah.gov if you would like to be added or removed from this email list or have information you would like sent out in the next newsletter.
— Diane Menuz Wetland Program Coordinator Utah Geological Survey P.O. Box 146100 Salt Lake City, UT 84114 801.538.7436 |
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Wetlands
December 1, 2021 - December 12, 2021
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
