Section 353.05. Wetland conservation activities and design specifications.

  Unless otherwise specified in this section, wetland conservation activities should be designed and constructed to applicable Natural Resources Conservation Service Field Office Technical Guide Standard Conservation Practice 378 – Pond (7/01), 410 – Grade Stabilization Structure (7/01), 638 – Water and Sediment Control Basin (7/01) and 657 – Wetland Restoration (9/00). Wetland conservation activities include:

(1)  Removing or disabling a section of drain tile in the project area.

(2)  Disabling surface drains by filling lengths of the ditch downstream of the drainage system to be altered. Ditch fills may be added upstream of ditch plugs.

(3)  Constructing dikes, embankments and low berms to Natural Resources Conservation Service Field Office Technical Guide Standard Conservation Practice 657, 378, 410 or 638, that impede surface water drainage or runoff.

(4)  Removing soil and vegetation or post European settlement deposition that has accumulated over historic wetland soils or creating micro-topography to enhance hydrologic diversity including shallow scrapes, channels, submerged islands and interconnected open water areas.

(5)  Altering the hydrology of an area by removing pumps, breaching structures such as dikes, or re-routing artificial drainage features or manipulation of water control structures.

(6)  Introducing plants by planting, cultivating, stocking or releasing. Controlling plants by cutting, removing, destroying or suppressing using manual or mechanical methods, introducing United States department of agriculture approved biological agents, manipulating water levels, burning, or using United States environmental protection agency registered herbicides and chemicals applied according to the label instructions.

(7)  Installing and maintaining devices such as staff gauges, water level recording devices, small weirs and flumes whose purpose is to measure and record scientific data for monitoring of the conservation activity, periodic water quality testing and periodic sampling to show changes in flora and fauna composition and abundance.

History: CR 01-144 : cr. Register January 2003 No. 565 , eff. 2-1-03.

Note

These materials are available at the United States Department of Agriculture Wisconsin Natural Resources Conservation Service website: www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov or from the county NRCS office or the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association office, Madison, WI at (608) 833 -1833. Copies of the materials are available for inspection in the offices of the department of natural resources, secretary of state and legislative reference bureau in Madison, Wisconsin. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1