ABSTRACT:
Most wetland restorations in Wisconsin have focused on wildlife benefits without consideration of improvements to water quality. A Geographic Information System (GIS) database was developed for a watershed in southern Wisconsin to: 1) objectively locate drained wetlands and their owners for field manager contacts, and 2) rank drained wetlands for restoration based on their potential to improve water quality. GIS data layers of soils, existing wetlands, and landowners were combined to produce maps, mailing lists, and a computer interface of landowners of drained wetlands in a 410-km2 watershed. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was used with GIS data layers of soils, cropping management, topography, hydrography, and land cover to estimate the potential eroded sediment delivered to streams within the watershed. GIS was used to delineate the mini-watershed of each drained wetland basin, estimate the delivered sediment that could be trapped if the drained basin was restored, and rank the drained wetlands for restoration within strata of topographic contours.
Footnotes
Michelle S. Richardson worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) on the project and is now with the Dane County Land Conservation Department, Madison; and Ron C. Gatti is with the WDNR Bureau of Integrated Science Services, Monona. Funding was provided by EPA Section 319 of the Clean Water Act (Grant # C9995007-95-0) and the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration under the Pittman-Robertson project (W-160-P). Tim R. Grunewald administered the EPA grant and coordinated this project. The manuscript was reviewed by Tim R. Grunewald, John C. Panuska, Todd L. Peterson, Robert T. Dumke, Patricia A. Trochlell, Terry A. Hiltz (all with WDNR), and three anonymous reviewers. Specific product names do not imply endorsement by the authors.
- Copyright 1999 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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