NR 353.03(4)(4) “Early successional hydrophyte” means a plant adapted to quickly colonize open, disturbed wetlands, which do not persist over time and are replaced by perennials that hold space and persist over time. Examples of these plants include nut sedge (Cyperus spp.), nettle (Urtica dioica), smartweed (Polygonum spp.), wild millet (Echinochloa spp.), ragweed (Ambrosia spp.), Beggar’s ticks (Bidens spp.) and foxtail (Setaria spp.).

NR 353.03(5)(5) “Enhancement” means the manipulation of the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a degraded wetland to heighten, intensify or improve specific functions or for a purpose such as water quality improvement, flood water retention or wildlife habitat.

NR 353.03(6)(6) “Functional values” means the physical, chemical and biological processes or attributes that occur in a wetland and how society finds certain functions beneficial as listed in s. NR 103.03 (1).

NR 353.03(7)(7) “Invasive plant” means plant species that invade natural plant communities and wild areas and replace desirable native vegetation. Plants known to be invasive in Wisconsin wetlands include, but are not limited to: purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria); reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea); cattails (Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia and their hybrid); common and glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica and R. frangula) and common reed (Phragmites australis).

NR 353.03(8)(8) “Maintenance” means the removal of a threat to, or preventing decline of, wetland conditions and includes activities commonly associated with preservation.

NR 353.03(9)(9) “Management” means actions taken at a wetland to establish and maintain desired habitat and human use conditions including water level manipulations, herbicide application, wetland species introduction and control, fencing, monitoring, signage and vandalism repair.

NR 353.03(11)(11) “Post settlement deposition” means sediment accumulated over original hydric surface soils since European settlement of the area.

NR 353.03(12)(12) “Preservation” means the protection of ecologically important wetlands in perpetuity through the implementation of appropriate legal and physical mechanisms.

NR 353.03(13)(13) “Restoration” means the manipulation of the physical, chemical or biological characteristics of a site with the goal of returning natural or historic functions to former or degraded wetland.

NR 353.03(14)(14) “Wetland” means an area where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which has soils indicative of wet conditions.

NR 353.03(15)(15) “Wetland conservation” means activities used in the restoration, enhancement, preservation and management of wetlands.

NR 353.04(1)(1) To be eligible for a shortform wetland conservation permit, the department shall determine that all of the following conditions are met:

NR 353.04(1)(a)(a) The project purpose is wetland conservation.

NR 353.04(1)(b)(b) The project proponent has demonstrated that site conditions exhibit impacts to topography, soils, native vegetation or hydrology that have degraded a wetland and are potentially reversible.

NR 353.04(1)(c)(c) The project proponent has demonstrated that the project involves only listed wetland conservation activities as specified in s. NR 353.05 or that the proposed activity is maintenance of a preexisting wetland conservation project under s. NR 353.10.

NR 353.04(1)(d)(d) The project does not involve any activities in navigable waters with prior stream history, or is otherwise determined to not cause significant adverse impacts to those waters.

NR 353.04(1)(e)(e) The project does not cause significant adverse impacts to a cold water community, as defined in s. NR 102.04 (3) (a).

NR 353.04(1)(f)(f) The project does not cause significant obstruction of fish passage to existing spawning areas.

NR 353.04(1)(g)(g) The project does not cause significant adverse impacts to state threatened or endangered resources.

NR 353.04(1)(h)(h) The project does not cause significant adverse impacts to historical or cultural resources and will comply with s. 44.40, Stats.

NR 353.04(1)(i)(i) Any proposed dikes, embankments or low berms as defined in s. NR 353.05 (3), will have a height of less than 6 feet measured from natural ground to design top of the structure and will result in less than 50 acre-feet total storage, and have been designed by a professional engineer registered in the state of Wisconsin or submitted by a county, state or federal agency. A project with a design embankment height 2 feet or less above the natural ground and with less that 50 acre-feet of storage does not have to be designed a professional engineer.

NR 353.04(1)(j)(j) The project does not involve the planned introduction of non-native or invasive wetland plants.

NR 353.04(1)(k)(k) The project does not involve the control of native wetland plant species unless the project proponent has demonstrated that the activity is to maintain a wetland community or to diversify a monoculture or a monotypic stand of invasive wetland plants. Removal of monotypic stands of invasive herbaceous vegetation may include excavation only if incidental soil removal and deposition occurs on uplands or like monoculture adjacent to the area of removal.

NR 353.04 NoteNote: This provision applies only to incidental soil associated with plant removal and is not intended to allow conversion of wetlands to uplands.

NR 353.04(2)(2) Project proposals which include activities listed in s. NR 353.05 (3) to (5) and have existing wetlands on or adjacent to the project area are eligible for the shortform wetland conservation permit only if both of the following conditions are met:

NR 353.04(2)(a)(a) Agricultural crops, invasive wetland species or early successional hydrophyte species dominate the project area.