Developing a rapid wetland benefit assessment (WBA) for montana state and tribes
Federal and State agencies are obliged to manage mitigation to compensate for impacts to streams and wetlands. We are required to have an overall no net loss of aquatic functions and values from these impacts. There are currently regulatory tools to assess aquatic functions and to track their replacement during compensatory mitigation. However, there is no such tool available to assess and track aquatic values. Ecosystem services are a means to address values, but the importance of these services is relative to a community's needs. This research will ask resource managers across Montana State to provide a list of aquatic services that are important to their areas and through this develop an agreed-upon, prioritized list of aquatic ecosystem services. Ultimately, from this list, a tool can be created to rapidly assess these services and act as a module to an existing stream and wetland function rapid assessment tool for regulatory efficiency. The tool will assist State and Federal agencies in meeting their obligation to account for stream and wetland best use for permitting, mitigation, and preservation.
Dr. William Kleindl is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Science and Dr. Sarah Church is as Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, both at Montana State University.