Restoration and Protection of Missouri River Wetlands

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Past wetland protection projects have been hampered by the lack of accurate, up to date, wetland maps. Restoration efforts have likewise been limited due to a lack of relevant site locations where restoration efforts can provide maximal impact. This project will aid protection and restoration efforts along the Missouri River by creating up to date digital data outlining the location and type of existing wetlands and potential restoration sites, and will provide an algorithm for ranking each 10m pixel in terms of wetland conservation and restoration priority. Additionally, changes in wetland type or abundance will also be determined. Wetland mapping and change will be based on current satellite imagery and data from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). Potential restoration based on abiotic site types will use fine-resolution digital elevation models of the river bottom (bluff to bluff), river flood stage data, and soils data within a GIS environment.
This project was completed in August 2008.