Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1) The department shall establish a wetland
management zone (WMZ) when forest management activities are proposed within or
adjacent to an isolated wetland or adjacent to a wetland found within an SMZ.
(a) For isolated wetlands greater than 0.25
acre the WMZ boundary shall be 50 feet.
(b) For isolated wetlands smaller than 0.25
acre the WMZ boundary shall only include the wetland itself.
(c) For wetlands found within a SMZ, the WMZ
boundary shall be 50 feet.
(2) The department shall meet all
requirements of ARM
36.11.301
through
36.11.312
when conducting forest management activities within wetlands that are located
within or intercepting an SMZ boundary.
(3) The criteria the department will use to
identify wetlands are:
(a) plant species
composition;
(b) soil
characteristics; or
(c) depth of
water table.
(4) The
presence of one or more field indicators for any of the three following
criteria shall be adequate for wetland designation:
(a) The department shall consider a site to
meet the wetland plant species composition criteria for wetland identification
if, under normal circumstances, more than 50% of the dominant plant species
from all strata occupying the site are classified as:
(i) obligate wetland;
(ii) facultative wetland; or
(iii) facultative species.
(b) The department shall consider
a site to meet the wetland hydrology criteria if the area is:
(i) inundated either permanently or
periodically to a depth at which emergent vegetation interfaces with open
water; or
(ii) the soil has a
frequently occurring high water table that remains within 12 inches of the
surface for more than 14 consecutive days during the growing season of the
prevalent vegetation.
(c) The department shall consider a site to
meet the criteria for wetland soils if the soils occupying the site are
classified as hydric soils.
(5) The department shall avoid the use and
construction of roads in a WMZ.
(a) The
department shall use existing roads or construct roads in a WMZ only if
potential water quality impacts are adequately mitigated and wetland functions
are maintained.
(6) The
department shall restrict harvest and equipment operations within a WMZ.
(a) The department shall limit harvest and
equipment operations within a WMZ to low-impact harvest systems and operations
that do not cause:
(i) excessive compaction;
(ii) displacement; or
(iii) erosion of the soil.
(b) The department shall limit
operation of ground-based equipment in a WMZ to periods of:
(i) low soil moisture;
(ii) frozen soil; or
(iii) snow covered ground conditions.
(c) Where ground based
skidding through an isolated wetland is necessary, the department shall
minimize the number of skidding routes and the number of passes.
(d) The department shall restrict cable
yarding of trees from within a WMZ to systems that fully suspend harvested
logs; or partially suspend logs when conducted during periods of:
(i) low soil moisture;
(ii) frozen soil; or
(iii) snow covered ground
conditions.
(7) The department shall design harvest
prescriptions in a WMZ to protect and retain shrubs and sub-merchantable trees
to the fullest extent practicable.
AUTH:
77-1-202,
77-1-209,
77-5-201,
77-5-204,
MCA; IMP:
77-5-116,
77-5-204,
77-5-206,
77-5-207,
MCA
