The Wetland Monitoring and Assessment program is tasked with the job of assessing the health of Delaware’s wetlands.

To complete this task, each summer season a field crew assesses the health of wetlands on a watershed level.

Wetland Assessments

Since 1999, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) has been developing scientifically robust methods to monitor and evaluate wetlands in Delaware on a watershed basis.

Once these assessments are complete, data are extrapolated to generate overall watershed condition reports that discuss trends in wetland acreage, identify common stressors by wetland type, summarize overall health of wetland types, and provide management recommendations.

Information and recommendations provided by these reports can be used by organizations, state planning and regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders to prioritize and improve wetland protection and restoration efforts.

Delaware Watersheds by Wetland Health Scale

The map below shows watersheds for which wetland assessments are complete. Each wetland is represented with a color that represents its relative health.

The bar graph displays the comparison of overall conditions for assessed watersheds throughout Delaware. Watersheds are listed in decreasing order of minimally stressed wetlands.

Explore More Data

Detailed assessment data sets are available to view and download via the Delaware Open Data Portal.

• Condition of Non-Tidal Wetlands
• Condition of Tidal Wetlands

You Can Help Improve Delaware’s Watersheds and Wetlands

• Manage invasive species on your property.
• Add nature-based landscaping designs and green infrastructure on your property to control erosion and water runoff and improve water quality.
• Protect and maintain buffers around your wetlands.
• Preserve or restore wetlands on your land.
• Support better wetland protection by contacting your local decision makers.
• Please note that some data are still being processed and not all reports are available at this time. Please continue to check back for newly released reports.

Please note that some data are still being processed and not all reports are available at this time. Please continue to check back for newly released reports.

Related Topics:  assessment, watershed, watershed stewardship, wetlands