About the National Wetland Plants List

The National Wetland Plants List, or NWPL, is a conservation effort led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). It is a checklist of wetland plant species that occur in various types of wetlands throughout the U.S. and its territories – defined as the District of Columbia, the U.S., Caribbean and Pacific islands. 

This site contains the wetland indicator status ratings for individual plant species across the country, which is used in conducting wetland delineations and wetland determinations. The checklist is an interagency effort led by USACE and additionally supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S., Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) who created the USDA Plants List.

It is planned for NWPL to evolve as a project and begin including upload portion of flora as well, at least for use in the wetland programs that it supports. This effort is evident across many of the species on the website already.

Navigating National Wetland Plants List

In Navigating the National Wetland Plants List, you can search for plants most easily directly through the Species search. This search give syou a list of plants from A to Z in their database. It is arranged in alphabetical order based on the currently-accepted scientific names. You can also select specific species lists by regions, though be prepared for overlap in the most common species. 

There is a references and resources section that contains additional information and publications from NWPL. This includes a link to their video series on All Things Wetland Plants which is an interesting video list covering everything from the natural history of ferns and wetland ratings to a discussion on herbaria, plant sampling for DNA, common grasses, and other information. This is a hidden gem that a lot of effort has been put into, and it is interesting to browse. 

You can also go to Plant Lists to download a full excel sheet of the more recent plant checklist, either on a national basis or for a specific region. 

The FAQ is, of course, a list of frequently asked questions and answers about NWPL specifically. If you notice anything missing or incorrect, you can submit a change request on the top navigational menu.

Regions the National Wetland Plants List Includes

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain (AGCP)
• Arid West (AW)
• Carribbean (CB)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont (EMP)
• Great Plains (GP) 
• Hawai’i (HI)
• Midwest (MW)
• Northcentral and Northeast (NCNE)
• Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coasts (WMVC)
• Alaska (AK)
• All

On Plant Pages

Specific plant pages present you with a wide range of information that you might need to do your work or research. You’ll first see the scientific name and Symbol used for identifying the genus, species, and any other indicators.

You’ll then see basic details about the plant. This includes its duration and growth habits and any known synonyms. 

All plants have a wetland rating associated with it. Different regions may have different ratings. Regions are across the header row.

Finally, you’ll see a species range map where the plant has been identified. You can either view this map by state/county, wetland region, USACE district, or USACE division depending on your needs.