[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 777-780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
ZRIN 0710-ZA06
National Wetland Plant List
AGENCY: U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) is used to delineate
wetlands for purposes of the Clean Water Act and the Wetland
Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of
the list include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement
projects. To update the NWPL, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps),
as part of an interagency effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS), is announcing the availability of the draft National Wetland
Plant List (NWPL) and its web address to solicit public comments. The
public will now be provided the opportunity to comment and vote on the
wetland indicator status ratings of the plants, species nomenclature
changes and the revisions to the definition of indicator status ratings
contained in the NWPL.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before March 7, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on indicator status evaluations and
general comments through the Web site identified below. Whenever
possible, commenters should submit comments on-line at: http://wetland_plants.usace.army.mil/. For instructions on how to submit
comments online, please go to the supplementary section below.
For those without internet access, comments may be sent to Ms.
Karen Mulligan, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Community of
Practice, 441 G St., NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Karen Mulligan, Headquarters,
Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC or Mr. Robert Lichvar,
Director of the National Wetland Plant List, Engineer Research and
Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.
Ms. Mulligan can be reached at (202) 761-4664 and Mr. Lichvar can be
reached at (603) 646-4657.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The effort to develop a comprehensive wetland plant list began with
the FWS in 1976 and paralleled the development of their wetland
classification system for the National Wetland Inventory (NWI), which
culminated in Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the
United States in 1979. A brief footnote in that publication mentions
that the FWS intended to produce ``a list of hydrophytes and other
plants occurring in wetlands of the United States'' for use in
conjunction with the NWI. At about the same time the NRCS, then known
as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), initiated an effort to prepare
a preliminary list of hydric soils, again for use with the NWI. Through
a series of subsequent drafts, the FWS effort eventually led to the
production of the National List of Plant Species That Occur in
Wetlands: 1988 National Summary (List 88)--and associated regional
lists.
The FWS initially derived the lists by searching some 300 national
and regional floras and other scientific publications. This effort
produced the Annotated National Wetland Plant Species Database, which
documented the taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution, and ecology of
wetland flora in the U.S. In 1987, the SCS (through a contract with the
Biota of North America Program [BONAP]) updated the taxonomy and
nomenclature that culminated in List 88. During the initial development
of the database, a wetland rating system was created based on habitat
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descriptions derived from the various regional floras, botanical
manuals, and other scientific works.
In the early 1980s, the four primary Federal agencies involved in
wetland delineation (Corps, EPA, FWS, and NRCS) realized the potential
utility of the plant and soil lists for wetland delineation purposes in
conjunction with wetland delineation manuals that were under
development at that time. All wetland delineation manuals produced at
the Federal level during the 1980s referenced these plant lists in
defining hydrophytic vegetation.
The four agencies agreed to participate cooperatively on Regional
Interagency Review Panels. A National Panel of wetland ecologists was
assembled to review and further revise the various plant lists and the
wetland rating system established by the FWS. This rating system, based
on the frequency that a particular plant occurs within wetlands versus
uplands, eventually led to the five indicator categories listed in List
88 (i.e., obligate wetland, facultative wetland, facultative,
facultative upland, and obligate upland).
The FWS realized that subsequent editions of their List 88 would be
inevitable and an appeal procedure was established for submitting
proposed changes to the list (e.g. additions, deletions, and changes in
indicator statuses). Since the original publication of List 88, many
changes to the taxonomy and nomenclature of wetland plants have been
proposed and accepted. Following the original publication of List 88,
the FWS adopted a revised taxonomic standard, Synonymized Checklist of
the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (Kartesz
1994), as a basis for the names included within the proposed list,
National List of Vascular Plant Species that Occur in Wetlands (List
96).
The National Panel and the FWS considered it necessary to respond
to requests for changes to List 88 and to the numerous revisions in
both taxonomy and nomenclature by proposing List 96 and its derivative
regional lists. The FWS published proposed changes to List 88 in the
Federal Register (62 CFR 2680) on January 17, 1997, in compliance with
a 1996 Memorandum of Agreement between the Corps, EPA, FWS, and NRCS.
The National Panel received comments and, in conjunction with the
Regional Panels, reviewed and considered all comments in developing the
final draft of List 96. For a variety of reasons, List 96 was never
finalized, and List 88 remains the only approved list of wetland plant
indicator statuses.
In 2005, the FWS developed plans to update and adopt List 96 as
List 05. This new List was to include all of the changes in scientific
names and wetland indicator statuses that were needed because of
taxonomic and nomenclatural changes; however, this update never
occurred. In December 2006, the administration of the list was
transferred from the FWS to the Corps through a Memorandum of
Agreement, which renamed the list as the National Wetland Plant List.
The list continues to be an interagency product maintained by the
Corps, FWS, EPA, and NRCS. The National Panel consists of
representatives from each of the four participating agencies who direct
the continued development of the NWPL. They guide the work by updating
the taxonomy and nomenclature along with wetland indicator statuses of
wetland plants nationwide. The number of plants listed has changed
since List 88; growing from 6,728 species to 7,662 in List 96, with the
majority of the increase resulting from taxonomic and nomenclatural
changes, including the addition of many infraspecific taxa (i.e.,
varieties and subspecies). By 2010, further advances in systematic
science involving wetland plants resulted in an additional 1,600
infraspecific entries. Because of taxonomic and nomenclatural changes
since 1988, the number of infraspecific taxa has increased to 2,200;
substantially more than the original 12 in List 88 and 600 in List 96.
Because this seemed to be an impractically high number of entries, the
National Panel of the NWPL decided to revert back to the species-level
taxonomy, and to not include any infraspecific taxa. Thus, the current
review of the 8,558 species does not separately treat these
infraspecific taxa with their own distinct wetland ratings and includes
all the infraspecific taxa at the species-level.
Nomenclature Issues
Changes in nomenclature frequently affect the wetland indicator
status. In the updated database, the currently accepted name is linked
to the List 96 and List 88 scientific names and any former synonyms.
This link allows a reviewer to consider all prior ratings, which may be
critical information for species that have been merged or split. The
National Panel established methods using List 96 draft ratings as the
starting point to minimize effort and recognize prior updates from the
1990s. Many changes to nomenclature and scientific advances were
considered during the updating of the NWPL, including the following
outcomes:
1. Species names from List 96 that did not change and are currently
accepted.
2. Species names from List 96 that were assigned a new species name
(these include misapplication of genus, spelling, recognized author
changed, etc.).
3. Two or more species names from List 96 that merged into one
species name (these include all nomenclatural adjustments such as
autonyms, homonyms, hybrids, isonyms, synonyms, tautonyms, etc.).
4. Species names from List 96 that were split into two or more
species names.
5. New species of wetland taxa that were added since Kartesz's 1994
checklist.
Indicator Status Ratings
In List 88, there are five categories of indicator status, or
ratings, used to describe a plant's likelihood for occurrence in a
wetland versus an upland: Obligate Wetland (OBL), Facultative Wetland
(FACW), Facultative (FAC), Facultative Upland (FACU), and Obligate
Upland (UPL). These ratings represent the estimated probability of a
species occurring in wetlands versus non-wetlands in a region. This
method is problematic for two reasons: the ratings are not supported by
numerical data, and the previous FWS definition of frequency, which was
the basis for the division of groups that the wetland plant ratings
were tied to, did not include a mathematical expression useful for
testing the wetland ratings. These issues have led to
misinterpretations of the frequency formula. To address some of these
problems, the National Panel modified the definitions for the indicator
status categories to increase clarity and to better describe species
occurrences. The indicator status developed recently by the National
Panel for updating the NWPL are; OBL--almost always is a hydrophyte,
rarely in uplands; FACW--usually is a hydrophyte but occasionally found
in uplands; FAC--commonly occurs as either a hydrophyte or non-
hydrophyte; FACU--occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in
uplands; UPL--rarely is a hydrophyte, almost always in uplands.
The original information supporting indicator status assignments,
from List 88 through List 96, was qualitative and not quantitative. To
better reflect this supporting information, the new category
definitions are also based on qualitative descriptions, rather than
numeric frequency ranges. The
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percentage frequency categories used in the older definitions will only
be used for testing problematic or contested species being recommended
for indicator status changes.
The Update Process
Over the past year and a half, updates have occurred through a web-
based application that allows many more users to access information,
while also retaining a permanent and transparent update record. Using
the secure Web site, the National and Regional Panels have been able
work online in their efforts to generate a draft Federal update of the
NWPL. Until this notice in the Federal Register, the public and other
governmental entities have had access to the rest of the botanical data
on the site, but not to the panel evaluations that were used to develop
the draft NWPL.
Instructions for Providing Comments Online
When visiting the Web site the first time, the user will have to
accept the Department of Defense (DoD) certificate associated with the
secure Web site. Once on the Web site, the user needs to click on the
link titled ``PARTICIPATE IN THE NWPL UPDATE.'' The commenter will be
sent to a login page where they will enter their name, a user name
(first initial and last name), password, e-mail address and select
their institutional affiliation. The automatic login generator will, by
e-mail, confirm the registration of the user name and password and the
user can then login and proceed to the query page. The Corps wetland
supplement regions map is shown in a color-coded format. Comments may
be made on one or multiple wetland supplement regions. The entire
wetland plant list for each wetland supplement region is shown on the
results page after a region is chosen and accepted. All prior votes
associated with the update can also be shown on the query results page
by selecting the ``Yes'' ``Show All Votes?'' radio button at the top of
the page. Each species has a red ``vote'' link in each row. Clicking on
the red word ``VOTE'' for that species will send the commenter to the
species page where a vote may be made. The species page includes
scientific and common names, synonyms, voting history by the panels,
1988 and 1996 statuses and maps based on North American distributions
and counties. This information can be considered when submitting
comments on the wetland rating for the species. Comments including
literature citations, experiential references, monitoring data and
other relevant reports should be submitted through the ``Questions or
Comments? Contact us!'' link on the homepage. All votes and comments
will be compiled and sent to the Regional Panel for their
consideration. In the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains region, ``more
input needed'' is marked in red for 75 species. The Corps is requesting
assistance in the form of comments, literature references, data or
experience for these species in the comment box to help clarify their
status.
In all cases, the most useful comments are from specific knowledge
or studies related to individual species. Reviewers should use their
regional botanical and ecological expertise, field observations,
reviews of the most recent indicator status information, appropriate
botanical literature, floras, herbarium specimens with notation of
habitat and associated species, habit data, relevant studies, and
historic list information. Guessing is inappropriate, and for plants
unknown to the reviewer, it is preferable that commenters select the
``I do not know (DK)'' option rather than simply guessing an indicator
status.
If the commenter has other comments in general that are not species
specific, there is an email contact link on the homepage. The link is
titled ``Questions or Comments? Contact us!''. By clicking on this
link, the commenter can submit other comments in regard to the NWPL
update in general.
For the purposes of determining a species frequency and abundance
in wetlands, wetlands are defined as those areas that are inundated or
saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration
sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a
prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil
conditions (33 CFR 328.3 and 40 CFR 230.3). Such wetlands are
identified using the Corps 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual or relevant
regional supplements, whichever is more recent. Wetlands are identified
using the three-factor approach. Because the species being evaluated is
part of a vegetation assemblage, examining the other species present in
relation to their assigned wetland fidelity may be useful in assessing
hydrophytic vegetation.
Species newly proposed as wetland plants have been added to the
Draft NWPL. Commenters who would like to propose a new wetland species
to the list may do so on the home page. These species will be checked
for current nomenclatural status, and their supportive data will be
added to the Web site to assist with the assignment of a wetland
rating. These newly proposed species and suggested ratings will be sent
to the Regional Panels for review and will go through the same
evaluation process as for species already on the list.
Recommendations for a different indicator status for select species
in additional subregions may be submitted. The subregions are based on
Land Resource Regions (LRRs) and Major Land Resource Areas (MLRAs)
(http://soils.usda.gov/survey/geography/mlra/) and are shown for each
wetland supplement region on the NWPL Web site. If the commenter feels
that a wetland supplement region needs a subregion that has not yet
been developed, the commenter should identify the MLRAs involved and
provide a list of species from within that region that need their own
wetland ratings. These can be submitted on the home page by clicking on
the link titled ``PROPOSE NEW SPECIES.''
When assigning wetland indicator statuses, reviewers should
consider the ecological information on the Web site, which includes
prior information obtained by the FWS and others.
Commenters should use the status definitions described above and
developed by the National Panel for updating the NWPL. The percentage
frequency categories used in the older definitions can be used for
testing problematic or contested species being recommended for
indicator status changes.
A sampling and testing protocol is being developed for future
recommended additions to the NWPL. Future requests for changes to
wetland ratings will be evaluated using scientific approaches using
limited but strategic field data. Submissions for future recommended
changes in indicator status must follow the established protocols and
must include submission of ecological data, literature review, testing
description, and geographical data.
Wetland indicator designations such as No Indicator (NI), No
Occurrence (NO), and No Agreement (NA) will not be used in the updated
NWPL. Inclusion of Upland (UPL) plants was considered, but it was
decided for this update of the NWPL they will not be included until
after the update is complete. The addition of upland plants later is
necessary to support wetland delineations that are typically done at
the ecotone between wetland and upland landscapes. If a plant species
has been identified as occurring in a wetland habitat, but is not
listed in a regional or state list, the NWPL should be consulted to
verify whether that species occurs in wetlands in adjacent areas before
it is assumed to be UPL and
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the NWPL is updated to label these species with this rating.
The plus and minus modifiers have been dropped, and only five
indicator designations (i.e., OBL, FACW, FAC, FACU, UPL) will be used
in the NWPL. All plants previously assigned these modifiers have been
merged into their broader indicator category during the review and
revision process, with the exception of those plants assigned FAC-. The
National and Regional Panels, as well as the academics, reviewed all
species from the 1996 National List of Plant Species that Occur in
Wetlands (hereafter called the List, with specific versions noted by
their year of establishment) that were assigned FAC- to appropriately
categorize their wetland rating.
Future Actions
Public comments received through the web-based system will be
compiled and tracked to provide an administrative record.
Regional Panels, in conjunction with the National Panel, will
review comments from the Tribes, other federal agencies, states, and
the public and will develop the final regional lists. The majority of
final wetland ratings will be developed based on the analysis of all
input and comments. For those species without general agreement, the
National Panel will assign ratings using a specific protocol developed
for this purpose.
After the National Panel assigns wetland ratings to non-consensus
species and reviews all regional lists, it will develop the final NWPL.
Notice of the final NWPL will be published in the Federal Register
along with the web address.
Maintenance and annual reviews and updates of the NWPL will be done
using the web-based system.
Future for the NWPL Web Site
Protocols were developed to ensure that updates to the NWPL will
occur biennially or as necessary and that they will follow
scientifically acceptable procedures. The updating process will provide
guidelines established by the National Panel for testing wetland
indicator status ratings for future recommended changes and additions
to the NWPL. The process will be supported by an interactive Web site
where all procedures and supportive information will be posted.
Information on this searchable Web site will include the names of all
National and Regional Panel members, prior ecological information
obtained by the FWS or Kartesz (BONAP) for each species, any comments
previously made by others that was retained in the FWS database on the
NWPL, and links to botanical literature and plant ecology information
to support assignment of wetland indicator statuses of all species
under consideration.
Once the NWPL is initially updated, this Web site will be expanded
to include upland plants and facilitate regular updates as additional
information is submitted and nomenclature changes. These changes will
be generated through a modification of the web-based process outlined
above. Regular updates based on nomenclature changes will be developed
on a biennial basis. Anyone may petition for a change in indicator
status for any taxon by submitting appropriate ecological data,
literature review, testing description, and geographic data. This will
include frequency and abundance data for the taxon in wetlands and
uplands in a broad range of the wetland supplement region or subregion
for which the change is proposed. Such data will be reviewed and
evaluated by the appropriate Regional Panel, and any changes they
recommend will go through a vetting process similar to the initial NWPL
update. The Web site will contain the most recent, currently valid
indicator statuses.
Authority
We utilize the NWPL to conduct wetland determinations under the
authority of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) and
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 401 et
seq.).
Dated: December 17, 2010.
Michael G. Ensch,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2011-3 Filed 1-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P