History and Use of "Field Indicators For Identifying Hydric Soils in New England"
By The New England Hydric Soils Technical Committee
 

 

In the mid-1980s, staff from the New England Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, with technical assistance provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (then the Soil Conservation Service), began developing New England-wide soil drainage class criteria to make field identification of hydric soils easier and more standardized. Several years of exhaustive field testing were conducted, involving a myriad of consulting firms, academic experts, professional societies, and federal, state, and local agencies.

Over the years, the soil drainage class criteria were revised many times as the knowledge base and experience grew. To gather data and obtain opinions, detailed questionnaires were circulated to soil scientists, wetland ecologists, and others in regulatory agencies, private consulting firms, and universities. Despite significant improvements, the criteria for the drainage classes were still confusing at times, and some of the region’s soil scientists had reservations about using them.

In 1992, in response to efforts at the federal level to develop field indicators of hydric soils on a nationwide basis, a group of federal, state, private and academic experts in wetland and soil sciences (many of the same individuals from the earlier effort) convened to develop regional field indicators for identifying hydric soils in New England. Numerous drafts were produced, circulated for review, revised, and re-circulated. The proposed field indicators were tested throughout New England by a variety of Soil Scientists and others in the wetlands profession. A monitoring well study was initiated by UMASS and a network of study sites were monitored by soil and wetland scientists for several years. The culmination of those efforts was Version 1 of "Field Indicators for Identifying Hydric Soils in New England", published May 1, 1995.

Following the release of Version 1, the New England Hydric Soils Technical Committee (NEHSTC) and representatives from the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) had several joint meetings and field trips to develop consistency between the New England and National Indicators. As a result of that cooperative effort, Version 2 of "Field Indicators for Identifying Hydric Soils in New England" was published in July 1998. This version included revisions in terminology to more nearly parallel the national indicators and additional clarification of indicators, increasing accuracy and consistency.

Improvements and revision of the "Field Indicators for Identifying Hydric Soils in New England" continues as concepts and our understanding of hydric soils advance. Each year the committee organizes a hydric soil tour to review the study sites and fine tune the indicators. Version 3 is the most recent publication reflecting the development of the indicators. Published in April of 2004, Version 3 has made it easier for field scientists and delineators to identify and document hydric soils in a more consistent and reliable manner. To correctly interpret and apply this guide, however, users must have practical experience and a working knowledge of soils. When properly applied, this field guide yields results that are consistent with the identification of hydric soils as per the 1987 Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual.

While this field guide is the culmination of nearly twenty years of work, it is by no means a final product. Practical application, experience, data collection and continued research provide sufficient reason to periodically revise and update the field guide.

From 1998 through 2008, The New England Hydric Soils Technical Committee (NEHSTC) has had the following members and contributors:

Peter Fletcher (Chair), Retired from USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service
Stephen Gourley, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service - Vermont
James Gove, Gove Environmental Services
Peter Hammen, New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services
Wayne Hoar, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service - Maine
Joseph Homer, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service – New Hampshire
Steven Hundley, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service – New Hampshire
Kenneth Kettenring, New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services
George Loomis, University of Rhode Island
Rebekah Lacey, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
Ruth Ladd, US Army Corps of Engineers
Raymond Lobdell, Lobdell and Associates
Dr. Harvey Luce, University of Connecticut
Scott Lussier, New England Interstate Water Pollution control Commission
Wende Mahaney, US Fish and Wildlife Service
David Marceau, Maine Association of Professional Soil Scientists
Joseph Noel, Maine Association of Professional Soil Scientists
Thomas Peragallo, Peragallo Associates
Jeff Peterson, Vanesse Hangen Brustlin
Sidney Pilgrim, University of New Hampshire
David Rocque, Maine Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources
Matthew Schweisberg, US Environmental Protection Agency
Michael Sheehan, US Army Corps of Engineers
Frank Smigelski, Federal aviation Administration
Lori Sommer, New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services
Dr. Mark Stolt, University of Rhode Island
Steven Tessitore, Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
Robert Tunstead, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service – Massachusetts
James Turenne, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service – Rhode Island
Dr. Peter Veneman, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Thomas Villars, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service - Vermont
David Wilkinson, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service - Maine
Dr. William Wright, University of Rhode Island
Michael Whited, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service

 

Table 1. Historic Use of Indicators

 

Version 1

May 1995

Version 2

July 1998

 

Version 3 April 2004

 

Current Name

 

Approximate Period of Use

(To January 2008)

I

I

I

Ponded or Flooded Soils

13 years

II

II

II

Tidal Soils

13 years

III.A

III.A

III

Histosols

13 years

III.B

III.B

IV

Histic Epipedons

13 years

III.C

III.C

V

Mineral Histic

13 years

N/A

III.D

VI

Depleted or Gleyed Matrix

10 years

III.D.1,2

III.E

VII

Depleted Below Dark Surface

12 years

N/A

N/A

VIII

Dark Mineral Soils

4 years

E.1

III.F.1.a

IX.A.1

Spodosols

13 years

E.1

II.F.1.b

IX.A.2

Spodosols

13 years

N/A

III.F.2

IX.B

Spodosols

10 years

 

E.3

 

III.F.3.a

 

IX.C.1

 

Spodosols

13 years

E.3

III.F.3.b

IX.C.2

Spodosols

13 years

E.3

III.F.3.c

IX.C.3

Spodosols

13 years

III.F.1

III.G.1

X.A

Sandy With Redox

13 years

III.F.2

III.G.2

X.B

Sandy With Redox

13 years

III.F.3

III.G.3

X.C

Sandy With Redox

13 years

III.G.1.c

III.H.1

XI.A

Any Texture

13 years

III.G.2.c, d

IIIH2a, b

XI

Any Texture

13 years

III.H. 1, 2

III.I.1, 2

XII

Any Texture

13 years

N/A

N/A

XIII – TF2

Problem Areas – Red Parent Material

4 years