The draft version of the 2022 National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) has been published in the Federal Register and is available for public comment. The update to the list has been long-awaited, as the previous 2020 NWPL was last published in November 2021.
Proposed Updates
There are not many changes in the draft 2022 NWPL. The U.S. Army Corps has changed the indicator status of two plant species in the Arid West Regional Supplement. Coastal Goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii) has changed from Facultative (FAC) to Facultative Upland (FACU), and Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) has changed from FAC to Facultative Wetland (FACW).
The Army Corps has also proposed changing the frequency of when NWPLs will be updated. They proposed releasing lists every three years instead of every two years. For example, the following plant list will publish in 2025. This change stems from the gradual decrease in public comments over the years. Presumably, this update would also resolve the delay in NWPL publications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summary
The National Wetland Plant List (NWPL) provides plant species indicator status ratings, which are used in determining whether the hydrophytic vegetation factor is met when conducting wetland delineations under the Clean Water Act and wetland determinations under the Wetland Conservation Provisions of the Food Security Act. Other applications of the NWPL include wetland restoration, establishment, and enhancement projects. To update the NWPL, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as part of an interagency effort with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is announcing the availability of the proposed changes to the 2022 NWPL and its web address to solicit public comments.
The public will now have the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to wetland indicator status ratings for two plant species in the Arid West (AW) region. In addition, we are accepting comments on the proposal to move from a two-year update cycle to a three-year update cycle for the NWPL. Finally, USACE is seeking comments on the overall NWPL update process.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (2023). National Wetland Plant List. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-01026
Comments
Comments on the 2022 NWPL can be submitted until March 21, 2023. The NWPL draft is linked here: 2022 NWPL Draft.
Comments can be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO-R, 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20314-1000.
For additional information, the Army Corps has designated Brianne McGuffie as the point of contact for the NWPL. She can be reached by phone at 202-761-4750 or by email at brianne.e.mcguffie@usace.army.mil.