Wetlands in Virginia

arrow arum
arrow arum
sycamore tree
sycamore
pawpaw tree
pawpaw tree
swamp rose-mallow
swamp rose-mallow
some plants such as arrow arum and swamp rose-mallow are "obligate" wetland plants (growing only in wetlands), while "facultative" wetland plants such as pawpaw and sycamore trees can grow on flood plains away from wetland soils
(click on images for larger versions)

Technically, wetlands are:1

...areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.

Wetlands do not have to have standing water 12 months of the year, but soils and plants must reflect the frequently-high water table.

wetland at mouth of Neabsco Creek, at Leesylvania State Park
wetland at mouth of Neabsco Creek, at Leesylvania State Park

wetlands at mouth of Pohick Creek and Accotink Creek
wetlands at mouth of Pohick Creek and Accotink Creek
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory, Wetlands Mapper

Virginia wetland statistics (calculated at the end of the 1970's):2
1 million acres of wetlands of all types
72% are palustrine vegetated wetlands ("palustrine" wetlands are located in fields/forests and on the edge of streams - but not adjacent to large lakes or on the edge of tidal waters)
23% are estuarine wetlands ("estuarine" wetlands are associated with tidal waters, east of the Fall Line)
72% of all wetlands are located in the Coastal Plain
22% of all wetlands are located in the Piedmont
6% of all wetlands are in the other physiographic provinces

Wetlands are now a valued ecological resource in Virginia. They provide essential habitat, particularly for salamanders. Wetlands provide stormwater management services, capturing runoff during/after a storm before the rainwater reaches streams and erodes the channel. Isolated wetlands intercept nutrients as well as sediment, providing natural pollution control.

a spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) from a vernal pool at Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve in February, 2023
a spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) from a vernal pool at Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve in February, 2023

In the 400 years of settlement after Jamestown, 42% of the natural wetlands were drained or filled for agriculture, industrial facilities, roads/ports, and urban/suburban development. In particular, estuarine and palustrine vegetated wetlands were lost. At the same time, new natural beaver bonds and artificial construction of farm ponds and reservoirs created an increase in open water areas.3

Today, government policy is to ensure "no net loss" of wetlands, ideally by avoiding alteration of a natural wetland. As described by the Environmental Protection Agency:4

Far from being useless, disease-ridden places, wetlands provide values that no other ecosystem can, including natural water quality improvement, flood protection, shoreline erosion control, opportunities for recreation and aesthetic appreciation, and natural products for our use at no cost.

Projects that destroy even tiny wetland areas are required to mitigate the loss by creation of artificial wetlands of an equivalent type. Destruction of a forested wetland requires two acres of new forested wetland for every acre destroyed, while destruction of a scrub-shrub wetland must be mitigated by a 1.5-to-1 ratio.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issues Virginia Water Protection Permits for non-tidal wetlands, and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) manages changes to tidal wetlands. The Federal government authority to regulate wetlands is based on Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, processed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Section 404 requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States.

wetland locations
wetlands locations
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, MidAtlantic Wetlands: A Disappearing Natural Treasure

According to the state summary of the National Water Summary on Wetland Resources (U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2425):5

Virginia has about 1 million acres of wetlands; one-quarter are tidal and three-quarters are nontidal. Forested wetlands (swamps) are the most common wetlands in the State. Both shores of the Chesapeake Bay have extensive estuarine wetlands. Conversion to nonwetland uses (agricultural, urban, industrial, and recreational), channelization and ditching, and other causes have resulted in the loss of about 42 percent of Virginia's wetlands since the 1780's.

Development in wetlands is regulated in part by means of the Virginia Water Protection Permit. Local governments may adopt prescribed zoning ordinances and form citizen wetland boards to regulate their own tidal wetlands; the State retains an oversight and appellate role.

estuarine wetlands on eastern side of Eastern Shore
estuarine wetlands on eastern side of Eastern Shore
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory, Wetlands Mapper

Virginia still has 144 named swamps, but has lost over 40% of its wetlands since the 1780's. The "lost" acres have been converted into upland (filled in with dirt and other materials) or open water (through dredging or erosion).

Virginia has lost over 40% of its natural wetlands since 1607
Virginia has lost over 40% of its natural wetlands since 1607
Source: Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), Wetland Preservation in Virginia

The Army Corps of Engineers issues permits for dredging and filling wetlands. These permits are required by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217). A list of public notices being considered by the Norfolk District will almost always include a few announcements about 404 permit applications in Virginia.

The Federal government's claim to authority to control even minor land disturbance is based on the constitutional authority to regulate navigable waterways (including Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act passed in 1899). As described Section 320.2 of the Code of Federal Regulations:6

The construction of any structure in or over any navigable water of the United States, the excavating from or depositing of material in such waters, or the accomplishment of any other work affecting the course, location, condition, or capacity of such waters is unlawful unless the work has been recommended by the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the Secretary of the Army.

"Isolated wetlands" that are not directly connected to the navigable waters of the United States (such as a vernal pool in a forested area, away from a stream) are excluded from Federal regulation, but modification of isolated wetlands still requires a state permit from DEQ. Also excluded from Section 404 Federal regulation are many farming/forestry activities.

Mathews County wetlands
Mathews County wetlands
Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory

Filling wetlands will change the way water runs off into the navigable streams, such as the James River. The Corps is notorious in some quarters for its philosophy of building structures rather than preserving the natural environment, even when the economic (as well as environmental) costs of a waterway or dam exceed the benefits - but according to the Federal rules of the game, it's the Corps that determines what permits to approve or reject.

fronds of a sensitive fern offer a good clue that the soil moisture levels are high in the area
fronds of a sensitive fern offer a good clue that the soil moisture levels are high in the area

There is a key difference between the definitions of "biological" and "jurisdictional" wetlands. Wetland protection became a political issue in the Bush/Quayle administration, with claims that the "no net loss" commitment was a fraud because the definition of wetland was being narrowed to just areas with standing water throughout the year. The Federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture farming bureaus, the Department of the Interior wildlife conservation bureaus, and the Environmental Protection Agency, were unable to adopt one standard manual for mapping wetlands consistently.

It requires professional judgment to determine the exact edge of a wetland. "Delineation" of a wetland boundary is not a cookbook process that any landowner can do. The Corps definition of wetlands recognizes that areas that are dry for much of the year can still be classified as wetlands. The Corps specialists will conduct on-site reviews to determine exactly where the regulations require a permit based on the vegetation, soil, and hydrology.

So cutting down the cattails to disguise the existence of a wetland won't work. The Corps advises landowners to request consultation if , in the Corps definition, an:7

- Area occurs in a floodplain or otherwise has low spots in which water stands at or above the soil surface during the growing season Caution: Most wetlands lack both standing water and waterlogged soils during at least part of the growing season
- Area has plant communities that commonly occur in areas having standing water for part of the growing season (e.g., cypress-gum swamps, cordgrass marshes, cattail marshes, bulrush and tule marshes, and sphagnum bogs)
- Area has soils that are called peats or mucks
- Area is periodically flooded by tides, even if only by strong, wind-driven, or spring tides


Source: Chesapeake Bay Program, Bay 101: Wetlands

Dragon Run: Virginia's Most Pristine Water Body

Lake Drummond and Dismal Swamp

Stream Restoration in Virginia

Swamps of Virginia

Vernal Pools in Virginia

boardwalk across Neabsco Creek under construction on March 1, 2018
boardwalk across Neabsco Creek under construction on March 1, 2018
Source: Historic Prince William, Aerial Photo Survey

Links

References

1. Environmental Protection Agency, "Wetland Regulatory Authority," http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/upload/2004_4_30_wetlands_reg_authority_pr.pdf (last checked November 10, 2010)
2.Tiner, R. W., Jr. and J. T. Finn, Status and Recent Trends of Wetlands in Five Mid-Atlantic States: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 5, National Wetlands Inventory Project, Newton Comer, MA and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, Philadelphia, PA. Cooperative publication, p.26-27, http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/_documents/gSandT/StateRegionalReports/StatusRecentTrendsWetlandsFiveMidAtlanticStates.pdf (last checked November 10, 2010)
3.Tiner, R. W., Jr. and J. T. Finn, Status and Recent Trends of Wetlands in Five Mid-Atlantic States: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cooperative publication, October 1986, p. 7, https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/documents/Status-and-Recent-Trends-of-Wetlands-in-Five-Mid-Atlantic-States.pdf; "Study finds small isolated wetlands are pollution-catching powerhouses," February 2, 2023, Phys.org, https://phys.org/news/2023-02-small-isolated-wetlands-pollution-catching-powerhouses.html; Frederick Y Cheng, Junehyeong Park, Mukesh Kumar, Nandita B Basu, "Disconnectivity matters: the outsized role of small ephemeral wetlands in landscape-scale nutrient retention," Environmental Research Letters, Volume 18, Number 2, https://www.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acab17 (last checked February 25, 2023)
4. "America's Wetlands," Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/wetlands/vital/toc.html (last checked November 10, 2010)
5. National Water Summary on Wetland Resources, United States Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2425, 1996, p.14, https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp2425 (last checked September 8, 2018)
6. "Authorities to issue permits," Code of Federal Regulations, Title 33, Chapter II, Part 320, Section 320.2, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/320.2 (last checked September 8, 2018)
7. "Recognizing Wetlands," US Army Corps of Engineers, 1998, http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/regulatory/Forms/Recognizing_Wetlands.pdf (last checked September 8, 2018)


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