Wetland Services

Understand your options. Avoid problems.

We help you make good decisions about wetlands. Those better decisions come when you understand wetlands and their surroundings. We make your best options clear. Most importantly, we remove uncertainty.

Wetlands are . . .

Wetlands are areas with wet (hydric) soils. They are filled with by water-loving (hydrophytic) vegetation. As well, these areas show evidence of frequent or periodic soaking. Soils there show signs of saturation.

Legal definitions for these areas are easy to find. But those definitions are often complicated. Florida specifies wetlands and their limits in its law.

We know this idea isn’t new. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helps define a federal wetland here: Wetland Delineation Manual (1987). The State of Florida says wetlands are (for the purpose of assessment):

“those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or ground water at a frequency and a duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soils” (source).

Wetlands are complex. All of these government bodies regulate different parts of them:

• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Florida’s Regional Water Management Districts (including the Southwest Florida Water Management District known as “SWFWMD”.)
• Army Corp of Engineers
• Municipalities (Counties and local City governments)

Our Important Resources page has links to many of these governing bodies. Try reading these laws for just a few minutes. We believe you will agree that businesses benefit from experts who know these laws. Using our team of environmental experts saves time, money, and potentially grief.

Understanding Wetlands

Wetlands are:

• Areas near the shore of lakes (littoral zones), rivers, and the gulf.
• Flood plains leading to rivers and lakes with fluctuating water levels.
• Places where certain plants live.

The State of Florida and Army Corps maintain lists of vegetations’ with “wetland status,” used in wetland determinations.

Wetlands are critical. They are the kidneys of nature”, removing impurities. And they provide flood control, absorbing nutrients and excess water. Also they are a habitat for countless species, some of which are state and/or federally protected. And wetland soils can be found in many places. Their characteristics are varied due to differences in formation, water movement, and organic content.

SWFWMD’s Wetland Assessment Procedure Manual provides a deeper view into understanding wetlands.

Permits and Process

Wet areas are typically “protected”. What we do on or next to them may be prohibited without a permit. When a company does these things, without understanding the land, there can be problems:

• placing fill
• dredging
• land clearing
• cutting trees with mechanized equipment.

The MGC Environmental Consultants team knows and understands permitting processes. And we understand how to evaluate property. We have expert staff that show you what is, and what is not, wetland. Often this helps our clients avoid problems. We often work with governments, engineers, architects, surveyors, construction, and real estate professionals.

Each year we hear from people thinking about purchasing land. We help them avoid difficulties. When we work with developers and builders, we help them make better decisions that avoid wetland issues. Environmental scientists working with your team can save costly penalties and delays. Real estate professionals call us when evaluating property for their clients asking about potential wetlands.  And we help each of these professionals understand location specific wetlands issues.

How we Operate

We work to understand each clients specific needs and to develop a plan. First we gather all the details of your project. Then we offer a set of actions and recommendations. Finally our team works to ensure all the proper permits and processes needed are followed. Our goal is to offer effective tailored solutions that keep habitats and humans comfortable together.

Our Results

We create the documents you need. You’ll use these when applying for permits.  But we don’t stop there. We’ll mark (delineate) your wetland boundaries. Our team knows about restrictions of being inside and next to those boundaries. We guide our clients through working with wetlands. And our staff gives permit assistance. Sometimes we can solve problems with creative solutions like a “wetlands bank”.

Our goal is ensuring that living near sensitive areas is both easy on nature and consistent with legal limits.

Step One: Identify the Property

You’ll need to zero in on the property address, and it is very helpful to provide the ALT KEY. The ALT KEY is a property identifier used by governments.  It allows us to know precisely which property you might be discussing and how it is classified in government records. Learn more about finding an ALT KEY on our Important Resources Page.

Step 2: Contact us

Please get in touch with us using the contact page here.