EP 1130-2-540
15 Nov 96
as for timeshare units, are contained in Appendix B to this chapter. These established procedures
are applicable to all new, expanded or existing private exclusive use developments.
2-4. Natural Resource Management Activities.
a. The Corps of Engineers is the steward of nearly 12 million acres of land and water held
in public trust at Corps civil works water resources projects. This acreage includes diverse
natural resources such as fish, wildlife, forests, wetlands, rangelands, grasslands, soil, air and
water, all of which are components of larger communities and encompassing ecosystems.
Consistent with the Civil Works Natural Resources Management Program Mission, the Corps
stewardship responsibility is to manage, conserve, and protect these natural resources for
sustained use by future generations.
b. Natural resources inventories are to be conducted at Corps civil works projects, to
provide quantitative and qualitative data for use in determining resource management needs.
There are two types of inventories, Level One and Level Two.
(1) Level One inventories are of a general nature and will be conducted to provide
baseline information for Master Plan purposes. Level One inventory data will be used to support
the resource objectives and land use classifications for the Master Plan. In the absence of
identified resource objectives and/or existing inventory data, the Level One inventory will be
conducted. The Level One inventory will be conducted in sufficient detail to determine general
plant and animal composition, acreage of dominant vegetative types (such as grasslands,
woodlands, and wetlands among others), soil types, land use capabilities, and the presence of
"special status species" and/or their critical habitat occurring on project lands and waters. "Special
status species" include any species which is listed, or proposed for listing, as threatened or
endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act; any species covered by the
Migratory Bird Treaty; any species designated by the FWS as "Candidate" species or "Sensitive"
species; and any species which is listed and protected by state statute in a category implying
potential endangerment or extinction. The Level One inventory will be, in most cases,
accomplished using available existing information, which is readily available from a variety of
sources (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey Maps, county soil surveys, aerial photography, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Corps project feasibility documents, etc.). (A Level One wetlands map can
be constructed based on Level One soils and vegetation inventory data to determine potential
wetland areas.)
(2) Level Two inventories are prepared in support of the resource objectives and/or land
use classifications identified in the project Master Plan and the Operational Management Plan.
Level Two inventories are required for the effective development, execution and evaluation of
specific natural resources management prescriptions. Detailed inventories for "special status
species," for example, are Level Two, and these inventories will be conducted at frequencies
necessary to determine the existence of any new populations of "special status species" occurring
on project lands or to determine significant changes in the existing population levels of these
species. (Level Two inventories for wetlands designations will be based not only on soils and
vegetation inventory data, but also on other critical factor information such as hydrology and
hydraulics, and will be determined by expert wetland professionals.)
c. Prepare and approve Master Plans in accordance with ER 1130-2-550, Chapter 3,
Preparation of Master Plans. The Master Plan is the document that organizes Congressionally
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