13 February 2024 - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as part of an interagency effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, is announcing the availability of the final 2022 National Wetland Plant List (NWPL). The Federal Register Notice for the 2022 NWPL update can be found here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-02-13/pdf/2024-02903.pdf.
The NWPL provides plant species wetland indicator status ratings, which are used in determining whether the hydrophytic vegetation factor is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and wetland determinations under the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of the NWPL include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement projects. The list is effective as of 13 February 2024 and will be used in any wetland delineations performed after this date. A summary of the 2022 NWPL is provided in the table below.
2022 National Wetland Plant List Updates
|
Scientific Name
|
Region
|
2020 Rating
|
2022 Rating
|
Isocoma menziesii
|
Arid West
|
FAC
|
FACU
|
Populus fremontii
|
Arid West
|
FAC
|
FACW
|
Completed wetland delineation/determination forms should reference the version of the NWPL used to complete the form. The final NWPL is available at https://wetland-plants.sec.usace.army.mil/ (preferred browsers are Chrome and Firefox). Please note that while the web address for the NWPL website has not changed with this update, the website itself has undergone updates to enhance the utility of the NWPL.
Updated versions of the Automated Wetland Determination Data Sheets (ADS), which reflect revisions to the NWPL, can be found at the following link: https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/reg_supp/ within the “General Information” dropdown. More info regarding the ADS and its utility in wetland delineation can be found at the following link: https://www.usace.army.mil/Media/Announcements/Article/2989646/5-april-2022-army-corps-of-engineers-announces-the-release-of-automated-wetland/.