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City of Ramsey February 12, 2007 Functional Assessment of Wetlands WETLAND FIELD ASSESSMENT RESULTS A total of 349 NWI/MMCD wetlands were inventoried within the City of Ramsey and of these, 136 wetlands were verified in the field. Data collected during the field assessment indicated that of the 136 wetlands: 122 were wetlands of Circular 39 Types 1 through 8, 8 were riverine wetlands, and 6 proved to be non-wetland areas The distribution of the 136 field verified wetlands and associated wetland types, is shown in Exhibit 3. In order to assess the number and types of wetlands within the City, wetlands were grouped by type according to the Circular 39 methodology and the Cowardin methodology for riverine wetlands since Circular 39 does not provide a type for riverine. Table 2 gives a summary of the wetlands by type, number, and acreage for single and multiple type wetlands. In general, wetlands that had a single Type 2, 3, and 4 classifications were more common than wetlands that had a Type 1, 5, 6, or 7 classification. No wetlands of Type 8 – Bog were inventoried within the City. Wetland complexes with the Type Riverine were the large wetland complexes associated with the Mississippi and Rum River. Function and Value Assessment The results of the MnRAM 3.0 assessment are summarized in Table 3. Exhibits 4 through 15 show the functional ratings for the following MnRAM 3.0 wetland functions: Vegetative Diversity/Integrity; Wildlife Habitat; Amphibian Habitat; Fish Habitat; Shoreline Protection; Aesthetic, Recreation, Education; Wetland Stormwater Sensitivity; Stormwater Treatment Needs; Hydrologic Regime; Flood Storage; Downstream Water Quality; and Wetland Water Quality. Based on the assessment, the functional assessment rating of exceptional was assigned to: 1) nine wetlands for Vegetative Diversity/ Integrity, 2) six wetlands for Wildlife Habitat, 3) 15 wetlands for Aesthetics, Recreation, and Education, 4) 17 wetlands for Wetland Stormwater Sensitivity, 5) four wetlands for Stormwater Treatment Needs, and 6) four for Wetland Water Quality . None of the wetlands in the City of Ramsey were found to be used for commercial purposes. As part of the inventory, wetlands offering potential wetland restoration were identified. Twelve wetlands were identified as having wetland restoration potential. This report does not include a detailed investigation as to the feasibility of restoration or how such restoration might be designed for each of these wetlands. Additional investigation would be required to further analyze the feasibility of restoring wetlands. Information on each of the wetlands is also included in the inventory made available within the MnRAM 3.0 database. See Appendix C for the Wetland Functional Assessment for the field verified wetlands. 11