| This study develops the quintessential-year approach and demonstrates its application in delineating wetland hydrologic boundaries under variable climate conditions on atypical and/or problem areas. This approach reduces the amount of time a site must be monitored, facilitates the delineation and protection of wetlands in highly variable and seasonal climatic conditions, is applicable to different wetland habitat types, and can accommodate changes in U.S. regulatory policies and the regulatory approaches elsewhere.; The quintessential-year method was developed from long-term climate data utilizing criteria that account for climate patterns, precipitation durations and typical distributions for storm intensities. The quintessential-year rainfall data was used in a vadose zone model to assess wetland hydrology under past and present years. Model results were compared to field conditions. The approach was utilized to define the wetland hydrology criterion on a 40-acre site. |
