PROVISION OF WATERFOWL AND WATERBIRD HABITAT


Wetlands designated as important for waterfowl (e.g., ducks, geese, and loons) and waterbirds (e.g., wading birds, shorebirds, rails, marsh wrens, and red-winged blackbirds) are generally those used for nesting, reproduction, or feeding. The emphasis is on the wetter wetlands and ones that are frequently flooded for long periods. Other birds dependent on and/or living in other wetlands (e.g., waterthrushes, veery, eastern kingbird, vireos, and warblers) are not included in this function; they are included in the large group of animals referred to as “other wildlife” in this assessment.

The selected wetlands include estuarine wetlands (vegetated or not), riverine emergent wetlands, estuarine and riverine unconsolidated shores (excluding temporary flooded-tidal), palustrine tidal and riverine tidal emergent wetlands (including emergent/shrub mixtures), semipermanently flooded wetlands, mixed open water-emergent wetlands (palustrine and lacustrine), and aquatic beds. Seasonally flooded lotic wetlands that are forested or mixtures of trees and shrubs (excluding those along intermittent streams) are designated as having high potential because they offer prime habitats for wood ducks. For this analysis, palustrine tidal scrub-shrub/emergent wetlands and tidal forested/emergent wetlands were designated as having moderate significance for waterfowl and waterbirds. Similar mixed wetlands dominated by emergent species, however, are listed as having high significance, since the emergents typically represent wetter conditions in Georgia’s tidal zone. Ponds one acre and larger were considered to have moderate potential for providing waterfowl and waterbird habitat.2 Semipermanently flooded vegetated wetlands that were not associated with a waterbody were rated as moderate for this function as were seasonally flooded emergent wetlands (including mixtures with shrubs) contiguous with water bodies.


For this function, the following relationships are used:

High

Estuarine Aquatic Bed, Estuarine Emergent wetlands (including mixtures with other vegetated types where EM dominates, e.g., EM/SS), Estuarine Unconsolidated Shore (except S water regime), Estuarine Intertidal Reef, Lacustrine Semipermanently Flooded, Lacustrine Littoral Aquatic Bed (and mixes where AB dominates), Lacustrine Littoral Vegetated wetlands with an H water regime, Lacustrine Unconsolidated Shores (F, E, or C water regimes), Marine Unconsolidated Shore, Palustrine Semipermanently Flooded and adjacent to a waterbody or along a slough; Palustrine Semipermanently Flooded-Tidal, Palustrine Aquatic Bed, Palustrine Vegetated wetlands with an H water regime, Seasonally Flooded Palustrine wetlands impounded (all vegetation types and associated PUB waters – natural ponds, waterfowl/wildlife impoundments, and beaver ponds), Lotic River or Stream wetlands that are PEM1C (including mixtures with Scrub-Shrub or Forested wetlands), Ponds associated with Semipermanently Flooded Vegetated wetlands, Palustrine Tidal Emergent wetlands (PEM1R and PEM1T and mixes with other EM and with SS and FO), Riverine Tidal Emergent wetlands, Riverine Tidal Unconsolidated Shores (except with S water regime), Ponds associated with all of the above wetland types, Lotic Basin or Fringe or Floodplain-basin wetlands (excluding those along intermittent streams) that are Forested or Scrub-shrub or mixtures of these types with C, F, R, or H water regime; Lotic wetlands that are mixed Forested/E Emergent or Unconsolidated Bottom/Forested with a F, R, or H water regime; Palustrine Tidal Forested or Scrub-shrub wetlands (and mixes with other types like the Lotic types) in Estuarine reach with R or N water regime and contiguous with open Water, Wildlife Impoundments (“wi”)






Moderate

Estuarine Scrub-Shrub/Emergent wetland Oligohaline, Seasonally Flooded-Tidal Palustrine Wetland where EM is the subordinate mixed class (e.g., PFO1/EM1R), Ponds 1 acre or greater in size (excluding industrial, commercial, stormwater detention, wastewater treatment, and similar ponds), Palustrine Emergent wetlands (including mixtures with Scrub-shrub) that are Seasonally Flooded and associated with permanently flooded waterbodies, Other Palustrine vegetated (AB, EM, SS, FO) wetlands that are Semipermanently Flooded, Other Lacustrine Littoral Unconsolidated Bottom wetlands





Note: All waterfowl impoundments and associated wetlands that should be marked with “wi” should be rated as high for this function. Ponds used

for aquaculture are excluded since management will likely deter use of these ponds; associated wetlands should also be excluded from this function. Industrial, commercial, and wastewater treatment ponds, lakes, and associated wetlands should be excluded from this function.





2. Ponds on wildlife management areas (e.g., refuges) should be considered to be of high significance due to their management. Since we do not presently have the location of refuges recorded in our digital database, these ponds may not be separated from the rest of the ponds. Hence, all ponds except industrial, commercial, stormwater detention, wastewater treatment, and similar ponds, are designated as having moderate potential for this function.



Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Easily create iPhone documentation