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Plan - DRAFF <br />important than natural areas that are adjacent to one or no other natural <br />areas. <br />Proximity of healthy natural areas to other healthy natural areas: Healthy <br />natural areas that are in close proximity to each other (within 1/8 of a <br />mile) were considered more important than isolated healthy natural <br />areas, healthy natural areas in close proximity to degraded natural areas, <br />or degraded natural areas in close proximity to each other. <br />These natural resource characteristics were combined to form the overall natural <br />resource assessment ranking for each area shown on map X. <br />10.5.2 Wetland Restoration Assessment <br />All wetland areas within the RCW D were evaluated to determine their potential <br />for vegetation and/or hydrologic restoration. A wetland's potential for either type <br />of restoration was determined in the following manner: <br />Vegetation Restoration: The Minnesota Land Cover Classification System <br />(MLCCS) data includes information on whether or not a natural area is <br />dominated by invasive species. Wetlands dominated by invasive species <br />represent an opportunity to restore native vegetation. Taking this into <br />account, wetland communities that were recorded in the MLCCS as <br />dominated by invasive species and greater than 2 acres in size were <br />included in this category and displayed on the map. <br />Hydrologic Restoration: National wetland inventory (NWI) data and ditch <br />inventory data were used to identify wetlands with the potential for <br />hydrologic restoration. The location of partially drained wetlands in the <br />NWI data and the location of known ditches were used to identify wetlands <br />that have been partially drained and could be restored to more natural, <br />flow through hydrology without necessarily changing the hydrologic <br />regime. Only polygons 1 acre or larger were included and displayed on the <br />map. Wetland areas with these characteristics that were in close proximity <br />to existing infrastructure (homes, businesses and roads) were removed <br />from consideration. <br />10.5.3 Lake water quality assessment <br />Each lake located within the Rice Creek Watershed District was evaluated to <br />determine its potential for water quality impairment due to excessive nutrients <br />(Table X). The lakes fell into one of five categories: <br />o No data: Not enough water quality data available for evaluation. <br />DRAFT 71 <br />5/1/2008 <br />Deleted: ¶ <br />Formatted: Font: (Default) Anal, 10 <br />pt ._._ <br />Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 <br />lot <br />