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<br />. Monitor the effectiveness of management activities, and any changes in plant and <br />animal species in managed areas Adjust activities as-needed based on <br />monitoring results. This is a very important part of sound natural resource <br />management. <br /> <br />Wetland Management <br />Wetland plant communities are frequently altered or degraded by changes in <br />hydrologic regimes associated with agricultural or urban development. Farming and <br />urban development alter the quantity and quality of stormwater entering wetlands by <br />increasing stormwater runoff and associated sediments and nutrients, and by draining, <br />filling and ditching wetlands. Agriculture and urban development also alter <br />groundwater flows, typically diminishing flows through withdrawals for drinking water or <br />increasing impervious surface areas. Excessive groundwater removal has been <br />proved to de-water and alter seepage communities and fens. <br /> <br />Goals for wetland plant communities should include maintaining or restoring native <br />plant communities and diversity by re-establishing or approximating original hydrology <br />and natural processes. Some communities with variable hydrology, such as cattail <br />marshes and wet meadows, may be relatively easy to restore or enhance, while more <br />specialized communities like fens and seepage swamps can be remarkably difficult to <br />restore if hydrologic conditions have been excessively altered. <br /> <br />Some strategies for enhancing or restoring native plant communities in wetlands <br /> <br />include the following: <br /> <br />. When possible, maintain or restore the natural hydrologic regime, limiting "bounce" <br />from storm events and maintaining ground water flows. Use infiltration and <br />vegetation strategies to reduce runoff from the watershed area that drains to the <br />wetland, or use ponding or other best management practices to moderate storm <br />flows, and remove sediments and nutrients from stormwater before it enters the <br />wetland. <br />. Remove or control invasive exotic species. Repeated herbicide treatments may be <br />necessary to control reed canary grass and purple loosestrife. Biological controls, <br />such as weevils, have also shown promise recently in managing purple loosestrife. <br />Hand removal of exotics by digging may be effective in areas where invasions are <br />limited. In forested wetlands, buckthorn removal may be required, using cutting <br /> <br />City of Elk River, MN - Natural Resouce Inventory <br />Bonestroo Natural Resources, September 2004 <br /> <br />59 <br />