[26 Test Answers] FEMA IS-727: Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands

Here are the FEMA test answers to IS-727: Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands.

Overview: The FEMA IS-727 course was published on 5/29/2019 to describe the principles of Executive Orders 11988 (Floodplain management) and 11990 (Protection of wetlands).

FEMA IS-727 test answers

Each time this test is loaded, you will receive a unique set of questions and answers. The test questions are scrambled to protect the integrity of the exam.

Question 1. What name describes freshwater wetlands found in cold regions whose bottom layers consist of peat or organic muck? 
A. Bog✅
B. Swamp
C. Slough
D. Marsh

Question 2. Which agency updates the information provided within the Wetlands Mapper? 
A. FEMA
B. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service✅
C. Department of Transportation
D. Department of Homeland Security

Question 3. What is a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)? 
A. The area which is subject to inundation from a flood having a 0.2-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.✅
B. The land area covered by the floodwaters of the base flood and is the area where the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP’s) floodplain management regulations must be enforced and the area where the mandatory purchase of flood insurance applies.
C. The portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway
D. The lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters

Question 4. Which of the following is a living resource function of a wetland? 
A. Wetlands offer space for hunting, nature observation, and recreation
B. Many migratory birds, including ducks, herons, sandpipers, and eagles “visit” wetlands in the fall and spring to feed while en route to their summer and winter destinations
C. Provide economic benefits through agriculture, aquiculture, forestry, and fisheries✅
D. Wetland vegetation filters water as roots and stems trap and gather sediments that contain chemicals and nutrients

Question 5. Which of the following is a purpose of EO 11988, Floodplain Management? 
A. To avoid, to the extent possible, the long and short-term adverse impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of floodplains✅
B. To require buildings located in Special Flood Hazard Areas to have flood insurance before receiving Federal financial assistance
C. To emphasize hazard mitigation and authorize funds to acquire damaged and destroyed properties located in floodplains.
D. To require agencies to fully consider the environmental costs and benefits of proposed actions receiving Federal funding before deciding to undertake those actions

Question 6. Which Act was the first act passed in the United States that regulated interstate waterways by requiring a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? 
A. Rivers and Harbors Act✅
B. Coastal Zone Management Act
C. Coastal Barrier Resources Act
D. National Environmental Policy Act

Question 7. What level of government is responsible for ensuring isolated wetland areas are regulated? 
A. Local Responsibility
B. Federal Responsibility
C. Individual Responsibility
D. State Responsibility✅

Question 8. What is the purpose of the FEMA Flood Map Service Center? 
A. The official public source for maps that show the location of Coastal Barrier Resource System Units.
B. The official public source for wetlands information produced in support of the National Wetlands Inventory
C. The official public source for maps of critical habitat.
D. The official public source for flood hazard information produced in support of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).✅

Question 9. A classification of wetlands that are exposed to waves and ocean currents. 
A. Estuarine Wetland
B. Marine Wetland
C. Palustrine Wetland✅
D. Lacustrine Wetland

Question 10. What is a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)? 
A. A map which provides information to the public on the status and trends of our Nation’s wetlands
B. The official map of a community on which FEMA has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.✅
C. A map of areas of habitat believed to be essential to endangered species’ conservation.
D. A map of relatively undeveloped coastal barriers and other areas located on the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico coasts

Question 11. What classification system is used to label wetlands in the Wetlands Mapper? 
A. Taxonomy Classification System
B. Dewey Decimal Classification System
C. Fanaroff-Riley Classification System
D. Cowardin et. al (2013) Classification System✅

Question 12. Which of the following is a water resource function provided by floodplains? 
A. Create and enhance waterfowl habitats and protect habitats for rare and endangered species
B. Recharge groundwater by promoting infiltration and refreshing of aquifers, and by reducing the frequency and duration of low-surface flows
C. Provide scientific benefits through knowledge gained in studying floodplains
D. Provide economic benefits through agriculture, aquiculture, forestry, and fisheries✅

Question 13. What level of government is responsible for the regulation of navigable waters, interconnected waterways, and their adjacent wetlands? for maintaining a national inventory of major wetland areas; and for providing guidance to States and localities responsible for protective wetland regulations? 
A. Local Responsibility
B. Federal Responsibility✅
C. Individual Responsibility
D. State Responsibility

Question 14. What is the term for a specific area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials into a river system or other body of water? 
A. Base Flood Elevation
B. Floodway
C. Riverine Floodplain
D. Watershed✅

Question 15. Which of the following is a water resource function provided by floodplains? 
A. Provide economic benefits through agriculture, aquiculture, forestry, and fisheries✅
B. Provide habitat for fish and wildlife by serving as a breeding and feeding grounds
C. Provide scientific benefits through knowledge gained in studying floodplains
D. Reduce flood severity and frequency

Question 16. What types of wetland habitats may be excluded from the Wetlands Mapper? 
A. Estuarine Wetlands
B. Prarie Potholes
C. Seagrasses or submerged aquatic vegetation and Deepwater reef communities✅
D. Marshes

Question 17. Which of the following is a floodplain management responsibility of FEMA headquarters? 
A. Administer the insurance portion of the NFIP by working closely with the insurance industry to facilitate the sale and servicing of flood insurance policies✅
B. Ensuring communities have the legal authority necessary to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations
C. Establish the State minimum floodplain management requirements
D. Granting or denying floodplain development and inspecting all developments to ensure compliance with local ordinances

Question 18. What is the National Flood Hazard Layer? 
A. An official map of a community on which the Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
B. An examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.
C. The lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters
D. A geospatial database that contains current effective flood hazard data.✅

Question 19. What set of regulations guides FEMA’s implementation of floodplain management and protection of wetlands? 
A. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (1988)
B. 44 CFR Part 59
C. Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
D. 44 CFR Part 9✅

Question 20. Which Executive Order provides for consideration and protection of floodplain resources? 
A. EO 11990 – Protection of wetlands
B. EO 11989 – Off-road vehicles on public lands
C. EO 11988 – Floodplain management✅
D. EO 11987 – Exotic organisms

Question 21. Which Act designates various undeveloped coastal barrier islands for inclusion in the Coastal Barrier Resources System? 
A. Rivers and Harbors Act
B. Coastal Zone Management Act
C. Coastal Barrier Resources Act✅
D. National Environmental Policy Act

Question 22. Which of the following is a requirement of EO 11990, Protection of Wetlands? 
A. To regulate the discharge of fill materials into wetlands and other waters of the United States.
B. To protect and balance the use of state coastal resources, which includes coastal wetlands.
C. To avoid direct or indirect support of new construction in wetlands wherever there is a practicable alternative✅
D. To require agencies to fully consider the environmental costs and benefits of proposed actions receiving Federal funding before deciding to undertake those actions

Question 23. A classification of wetlands that are situated in a topographic depression or a dammed river channel that generally lacks trees, shrubs, mosses, or lichens. 
A. Estuarine Wetland
B. Marine Wetland
C. Palustrine Wetland
D. Lacustrine Wetland✅

Question 24. What level of government is responsible for the control of local activities that impact wetland functioning? 
A. Local Responsibility
B. Federal Responsibility
C. Individual Responsibility
D. State Responsibility

Question 25. Which of the following is a cultural resource function of a wetland? 
A. Wetlands offer space for hunting, nature observation, and recreation
B. Many migratory birds, including ducks, herons, sandpipers, and eagles “visit” wetlands in the fall and spring to feed while en route to their summer and winter destinations
C. Wetlands within floodplains and coastal areas help control floods by storing and decreasing the flood velocity.
D. Wetland vegetation filters water as roots and stems trap and gather sediments that contain chemicals and nutrients

Question 26. What is a FIRMette? 
A. A portion of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) that is easier to print.
B. A female dancer who twirls a baton, usually in a group and sometimes with a marching band.
C. A small cooking area, which usually has a fridge and a microwave.
D. A meeting in which all stakeholders in a project attempt to resolve conflicts and map solutions.