Conservation strategy for Henrys Fork basin wetlands

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The Idaho Conservation Data Center received a wetland protection grant from the Environmental Protection Agency under the authority of Section 104 (b)(3) of the Clean Water Act to enhance existing wetland information systems. The information summarized here can be applied to state biodiversity, conservation, and water quality enhancement projects on a watershed basis. The initial project area encompassed the Henrys Fork Basin including the Teton River drainage. We used the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) to gain a broad perspective on the areal extant and types of wetlands in the basin. Land ownership and management layers were overlaid on the NWI to determine ownership and the protected status of wetlands. Plant communities occurring in the basin were placed into the hierarchical NWI classification and provide information relative to on-the-ground resource management. Assessment of the quality and condition of plant communities and the occurrence of rare plant and animal species allowed us to categorize forty-two wetland sites based on conservation intent. Eight wetlands occur in a relatively natural condition, and full protection is the priority. The biological significance of the surveyed wetland sites and abstracts for rare plant communities, plant species, and animal species are provided to guide management activities. Land managers can apply the methods presented here to categorize wetlands which were not surveyed. We identify conservation strategies for sites surveyed and for plant communities that are unprotected or under protected. Less than 4% of the wetlands in the basin have protection beyond regulatory provisions of the Clean Water Act. Most of the protected wetlands are in the emergent vegetation category. Deciduous forested wetlands, non-willow shrub wetlands, and peatlands are currently under protected and should be of high priority for conservation activities. Only portions of the information from the NWI maps and database records are summarized in this conservation strategy.

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Ecology

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Jankovsky–Jones M. 1996. Conservation strategy for Henrys Fork basin wetlands. Boise (ID): Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Conservation Data Center. 30 p. + app. [accessed 2016 Jan 14]. https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/idnhp/cdc_pdf/hforkpla.pdf

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U96JAN01IDUS.pdf