Specifications

Section 2 Existing Conditions/Affected Environment
EAA Storage Reservoirs Revised Draft PIR and EIS February 2006
2-13
2.9.3.2 Wetlands
All of Compartment A of the Talisman Land Exchange property is considered to
be atypical jurisdictional wetlands based on hydric soils and hydrology. Wetland
vegetation is anticipated to return to the site should agricultural practices cease.
Approximately 206 acres on site were characterized by an interagency team as
functional wetlands, comprising approximately 0.65 % of the total area. These
functional wetlands were described in six categories based on the presence of
native or exotic/nuisance vegetation and the percentage of herbaceous or shrub
vegetation. Table 2-1 outlines the wetland categories and provides equivalent
FWC land cover types as described previously.
TABLE 2-1: RESULTS OF WETLAND EXTENT FIELD SURVEY OF
COMPARTMENT A BY INTERAGENCY ECOLOGICAL TEAM.
Acres of Wetlands
(Number of
Wetlands)
Category Description Example Compartment A
1
Native Herbaceous Dominated
(<20% Shrub)
maidencane, saggitaria,
pickelweed
13.07 (1)
2
Native Mixed Herbaceous (20% to
49% Shrub)
0
3
Exotic/Nuisance Shrub (<20%
Herbaceous)
primrose willow, Brazilian
pepper, baccharis
1.73 (1)
4
Exotic/Nuisance Mixed Shrub (20%-
49% Herbaceous)
0
5
Exotic/Nuisance Herbaceous (<20%
Shrub)
torpedograss, paragrass and
limpo grass
3.45 (1)
6
Exotic/Nuisance Mixed Herbaceous
(20%-49% Shrub)
187.63 (2)
Total for all Wetland Categories 205.88 (5)
Source: USFWS, 2003.
2.9.3.3 Uplands
Upland communities were characterized by using FWC land cover data.
Uplands cover 486 acres or 0.08% of the entire EAA. Upland land cover classes
include dry prairie, hardwood hammock and forests, pinelands, and mixed
hardwood pine forests in descending order of abundance. No upland land cover
classes occur within Compartment A.
2.9.3.4 Disturbed Communities
Disturbed communities consist of mostly agricultural lands including pasture
(improved and unimproved), row crops, sugarcane, citrus, and other agricultural
lands. Included in this general habitat type are two other cover classes: shrub