A wetland in the wrong place can change what a piece of land is worth. It can limit where you build, stop a drainage project and, on farmland, put your USDA program benefits at risk. The good news: you can check for mapped wetlands in minutes, before you make an offer.
Why wetlands matter to a buyer
- Federal permits. Filling or dredging certain wetlands needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Which wetlands are covered has changed over the years, most recently after the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, so the answer depends on the site.
- Farm programs. Under the wetland conservation rules of the 1985 Food Security Act, often called Swampbuster, converting a wetland to grow crops can make the operator ineligible for many USDA programs.
- State and local rules. Some states and counties regulate wetlands and buffers on their own, beyond the federal rules.
Step 1: look at the national wetland map
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service keeps the National Wetlands Inventory, a nationwide map of wetlands drawn mostly from aerial imagery. Overlay the tract boundary on it and measure how many acres fall inside.
Step 2: read the soils and the ground
Hydric soils, low spots, standing water in wet years and wetland plants are all signs. Soil survey maps show where hydric soils are, and recent satellite images in a wet season help confirm it.
Step 3: ask for the farm records
If the land has been farmed, ask the seller whether the Natural Resources Conservation Service ever made a wetland determination on it. That record tells you what the government already decided about the field.
Step 4: get a delineation when it matters
If a mapped wetland sits where you plan to farm, build or drain, hire a wetland consultant to delineate it before closing. It costs far less than finding out afterwards.
Farm X-Ray does steps 1 and 2 for you: it measures mapped wetlands and wet soils inside the boundary and shows them on the map, so you know whether step 4 is worth paying for.