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1.0 Wetland Management Recommendations This document is a companion to the Minnesota Routine Assessment Method for Evaluating Wetland Functions (MnRAM) \[version 3.0 or later\]. It is meant to provide a basis for developing wetland management recommendations from data gathered in the field. The objective of a wetland management classification system and management standards is to achieve no net loss of wetland functions and values within the management area while providing flexibility for economic development that may require wetland impacts. Impacts to wetlands include not only direct impacts such as filling, draining, and excavating, but also indirect impacts from stormwater inputs, changes to local surface and ground water hydrology, and pollutant loading. The wetland protection process begins with an inventory and field assessment of all wetlands within the management area. The wetland inventory should identify wetlands by type (Circ. 39 or Cowardin), size, location and landscape setting, and wetland functions. Wetland assessment evaluates functional capacity, both existing and potential, based on inventory information as well as: vegetative community, soils, hydrology, ecologic characteristics, and cultural uses. Following completion of this assessment, each wetland can be assigned to a recommended management class based on the wetland’s current and potential functions as well as the evaluation of local critical wetland resources and the wetland’s susceptibility to stormwater degradation (Table 1.1). Each wetland can be classified according to a recommended level of wetland protection and acceptable 1 hydrologic changes (Table 1.2). 1.1 Wetland Management Classification With data for each wetland in the assessment area complete, the functional indices can then be used to classify the wetlands. This guidance document presents two classification standards based on 2 expert wetland recommendations and concepts and in compliance with the state Wetland 34 Conservation Act, state water quality standards, and various wetland management plans from both metropolitan and rural Minnesota areas. Suggested classification schemes offered are for Basic Protection and Increased Protection standards; local authorities can choose a management classification level based on local resource needs and preferences. The Basic Protection Standard (Figure 1.1) is the minimum recommended level that will satisfy no-net-loss goals, protect critical resources, and allow for use of some wetlands in development zones. The Increased Protection Standard will include more wetlands in the Preserve category that might otherwise fall into Manage 1, thereby protecting less-than-pristine wetlands in areas that are at an increased risk for wetland impact, whether direct; outright loss by development pressures or indirect; ecological impact from increased use or hydrologic changes. 1 Based largely on the state guidance document Storm-Water and Wetlands: Planning and Evaluation Guidelines for Addressing Potential Impacts of Urban Storm-Water and Snow-Melt Runoff on Wetlands, State of Minnesota Storm Water Advisory Group, 1997. 2 Some of which are presented in Storm-Water and Wetlands: Planning and Evaluation Guidelines for Addressing Potential Impacts of Urban Storm-Water and Snow-Melt Runoff on Wetlands, State of Minnesota Storm Water Advisory Group, 1997. 3 Minn. Rules Chap. 8420. 4 Minn. Rules Chap. 7050. Management Classification 1