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The Oregon Rapid Wetland Assessment Protocol (ORWAP) is a standardized method for rapidly assessing the functions and values of wetlands. The ORWAP part of this Wetlands Explorer web site provides site-specific information needed to answer a small but important portion of ORWAP’s 140 indicator questions. It also allows ORWAP users to upload completed assessments. The entire protocol (manual, spreadsheets, data forms, policy guidance) can be downloaded from: http://oregonstatelands.us/DSL/WETLAND/or_wet_prot.shtml 

The usefulness of information on this web site is not limited to ORWAP. It has many applications in local and regional planning for wetlands and riparian areas. ORWAP is being used to estimate relative levels of ecosystem services provided by individual wetlands of any type, anywhere in Oregon. It does so by estimating a wetland’s relative performance for a wide array of functions and their values. Functions are estimated using indicators assessed during a single site visit and review of aerial imagery. Values are estimated by examining a wetland’s spatial context within the physical, biological, and socioeconomic landscape. ORWAP automatically generates scores for the following functions: Water Storage and Delay, Sediment Retention and Stabilization, Phosphorus Retention, Nitrate Removal and Retention, Thermoregulation, Carbon Sequestration, Organic Matter Export, Pollinator Habitat, Aquatic Invertebrate Habitat, Anadromous Fish Habitat, Non-anadromous Fish Habitat, Amphibian & Reptile Habitat, Waterbird Feeding Habitat, Waterbird Nesting Habitat, Songbird, Raptor and Mammal Habitat, Pollinator Habitat, and Native Plant Diversity. In addition, wetland Ecological Condition (Integrity), Provisioning Services, Public Use and Recognition, Sensitivity, and Stressors are scored. ORWAP is being used primarily to estimate mitigation required under state and federal permitting as needed to offset unavoidable losses of wetlands; to assess wetlands within cities and watersheds for land use planning; and to monitor and evaluate success of voluntary wetland restoration or enhancement projects.

ORWAP currently has been applied to over 250 wetlands statewide. Testing has shown that a typical application requires 3 to 6 hours to complete. Among independent users, repeatability of the scores for most functions and values was found to be within ± 0.7 point or less on a 0-to-10 scoring scale. ORWAP was funded by the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with oversight by an advisory committee of state and federal agencies and private consultants, and was completed in May 2009.