EcoFormPro: the wetland data sheet, filled in the field

If you’ve never done a wetland delineation, here’s the short version. A biologist walks a site, digs a soil pit at each sampling point, and records three things: what’s growing there, what the soil looks like, and whether there’s water. Each point ends up on ENG Form 6116, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data sheet, and a wetland is a wetland only when all three parameters say so.

Most of that still happens on paper, then gets typed up again back at the office. The math in the middle (the 50/20 dominance test, the prevalence index, the FAC-neutral test) gets done by hand or in a spreadsheet. That’s two chances to make a mistake on a form a regulator will read.

EcoFormPro records the data once, in the field, and does the rest.

How it works

1. Locate. Take a GPS fix where you’ll dig the pit.
2. Plants. Find species by scientific name, common name or USDA code and set the cover. The dominance test and prevalence index update as you go.
3. Soil. Describe each layer with a Munsell picker that matches the book, or type “10YR 2.5/1”. The profile is drawn to scale.
4. Water. Record depths and tick the primary and secondary indicators.
5. Review. The verdict waits for all three parameters and shows the evidence behind each line.

Then it fills in the official data sheet exactly as USACE issued it, and builds the rest of the report: site map, photo log and every data sheet, from the same data.

Things I cared about

The form is never restyled. The app writes into the real form and leaves the layout alone. Even in dark mode, the preview is a white sheet of paper.

It shows its math. Every number a reviewer might question can be checked on screen. And where the evidence is disturbed or problematic, the biologist can overrule the verdict with a reason. The call stays theirs.

It works with no signal. Wetlands aren’t known for cell coverage. Everything is stored on the device: data entry, the verdict, the data sheet and the report all work offline, and you can download map tiles for the project area before you head out.

It’s usable with gloves on, in the sun. Controls are large, and a Sun mode swaps the glassy look for solid surfaces and heavy outlines. Status never depends on color alone: each parameter also carries a letter and a shape.

Where it stands

EcoFormPro runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The first beta covers the Alaska Region data sheet, with the other regional supplements built on the same foundation after that. It isn’t on the App Store yet; the beta waitlist is open at ecoformpro.com.