Landowner Resources | Developer Resources | Researcher Resources | Educator Resources |
Wetland MonitoringBackground In Oklahoma, there is currently no formal monitoring and assessment program for wetlands. However, an objective of the most recent Wetland Program Plan is to: Develop a monitoring and assessment strategy to serve as the foundation for tracking local and statewide trends in wetland health and extent, prioritizing and tracking restoration activities, and guiding compensatory mitigation projects. For more information about specific actions that will be conducted to advance wetland assessment in the state please review the Wetland Program Plan. Ambient Condition Monitoring The state does not currently have an ambient monitoring strategy for wetlands because no wetland specific assessment methods have been completed. However, these methods are under development. The most recent Wetland Program Plan for the state established the development of a modular field assessment tool as a key action. Field assessments can be used in the context of ambient monitoring, to identify unique and pristine wetlands for protection and degraded wetlands for restoration, as well as estimate wetland functions for guiding and tracking wetland compensatory mitigation. Status and Trends It is important to track gains and losses of wetland acreage throughout the state to understand where wetland functions are being lost, and where restoration should be prioritized. In 2010 the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and Oklahoma Water Resources Board began development of a Wetlands Monitoring Program by comparing current wetland acreage from recent aerial photographs with historic conditions from National Wetlands Inventory Maps. A link to the report can be found below: Wetland Monitoring Program Development Report In the most recent Wetland Program Plan, the Oklahoma Wetland Technical Work Group identified the advancement of wetland monitoring as a key action. In the next five years the state hopes to track the loss and gain of wetlands in two priority watersheds in Oklahoma. |