Wetland Delineation Surveys

Wetlands are highly regulated at both the Federal and State levels, and commonly exist in areas where existing web-based mapping sources either do not depict them at all, or they are depicted inaccurately. In most cases it is necessary to obtain permits from the city or county, and in order to comply with local, state, and federal regulations, you will need to know the location of stream or wetland boundaries and their buffer widths before you can build.

Wetland Delineation Survey involves a thorough investigation of any critical areas on-site. The survey will exhibit the horizontal limits and size of the wetland area as determined in the field by an environment specialist. The critical area boundary is then flagged and displayed on a map along with the associated buffer width.

In today’s tech savvy world, many people mistakenly rely on existing web-based mapping sources to definitively determine the presence or absence of wetlands on their property, treating the lines on the map as if they are etched in stone.  Believing there are no mapped wetlands on their property, development plans are envisioned and sometimes even permitted by local municipalities, only to discover at a later time that there actually are wetlands on the property.

Although existing mapping sources for wetlands are a valuable resource and should be consulted when making a wetlands determination for a given tract of land, the value of a field determination by a qualified and experienced wetland delineator cannot be understated.