Ecology staff defining a wetland boundary for National Wetland Condition Assessment at Ellsworth Creek in Pacific County.
We're starting a statewide survey to inventory wetland maps and mapping efforts in Washington. As part of this project we're inviting (but not requiring) organizations and wetland managers across the state who work with wetland mapping resources to participate in our initial survey.
This EPA grant-funded effort will connect Ecology with local and Tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and land managers who regulate or manage wetlands to identify the status of local, regional, and statewide wetland mapping efforts. This project will help create a consolidated, publicly accessible, web-based map and/or list of available wetland maps and mapping efforts across Washington.
Why the project is important
Currently, there's a lack of communication and coordination among government, Tribal agencies', and land managers' efforts to map and identify wetlands. Agencies may frequently duplicate efforts because they lack access to a shared knowledge base or list of available wetland resources. To address these concerns, we'll be surveying agencies who regulate and manage wetlands to help generate a statewide list of available mapping projects and resources.
Creating shared resources
This inventory will not only help us identify the current state of wetland maps, it will also identify where wetland-mapping improvements are needed and who may be appropriate collaborators for future wetland-mapping projects.
To create a wetland database resource list that will be available for all agencies to reference for the wetland-associated projects, we'll be gathering information including:
- Staff contacts
- Data sources
- Availability of public or private data and how it's updated and maintained
- Planned wetland mapping efforts
- Whether field-verified data is included
- How wetland mapping data is used
- Future needs
How to participate
If you're interested in participating in this survey, or have any questions, please contact Connor Racette, environmental and geospatial specialist with Ecology's wetlands team. The deadline to respond and be included in this survey is Feb. 28.