WETMAAP Skill 1
Lake Pontchartrain - Martello Castle Element 3

Skill 1: Map Use
Element 3: Classification of Wetland and Upland Habitats

Materials:

Color classification chart
Colored pencil
Drafting tape
1956 11"x 17" section of the NWI map
1978 11"x 17" section of the NWI map
1988 11"x 17" section of the NWI map

Exercise:

Note: This exercise can be worked in groups of two or three with each person preparing an overlay or coloring a NWI map section.

  1. Use the Color Classification Sheet
  2. Use the colored pencils
  3. Examine the following table
  4. Complete the table by coloring the box with the correct color:

¨ Salt Open Water

¨ Fresh Open Water

¨ Flats and Beaches

¨ Salt Marsh

¨ Fresh Marsh

¨ Forested Wetlands

¨ Wetland Scrub-shrub

¨ Upland Forested

¨ Upland Scrub-shrub

¨ Agriculture / Range

¨ Urban

  1. Use the 1956 NWI map
  2. Examine the wetland habitats labeled on the map and cross reference with the classification guide.
  3. Using the color pencils, the classification guide, and the color Table prepared above, color (fill-in) the polygons on the 1956 map.
  4. Use the 1978 NWI map
  5. Tape an 11"x 17" clear film overlay along the top edge of the 1978 NWI map.
  6. Use the Black pen to make four "corner marks" (_) on the overlay, one at each corner of the study site.
  7. Use the color marker pens, the classification guide, and the color Table prepared above, color (fill-in the polygons on the 1978 NWI map
  8. Re-examine the wetland habitats labeled on the map and cross reference with the classification guide.
  9. Compare the 1956 and the 1978 NWI maps.
        Are the 1978 habitat classifications the same or different than the 1956 habitat classifications?
  10. Use the 1988 NWI map
  11. Tape an 11"x 17" clear film overlay along the top edge of the 1988 NWI map.
  12. Use the Black pen to make four "corner marks" ( _) on the overlay, one at each corner of the study site.
  13. Use the color marker pens, the classification guide, and the color Table prepared above, color (fill-in) the polygons on the 1988 NWI map.
  14. Compare the 1956, the 1978, and the 1988 NWI maps
            Are the 1988 habitat classifications the same or different than the 1978 habitat classifications?
            Are the 1988 habitat classifications the same or different than the 1956 habitat classifications?