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Vol. 3, No. 4: March 31, 2008
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The Ecosystem Marketplace's Mitigation Mail
Conservation and Wetland News You Can Bank On
This month, the Ecosystem Marketplace took a closer look at the emerging system for endangered species recovery credits. Piloted at Ft. Hood, Texas, the recovery credit system makes it easier for government agencies to shift their responsibilities to the private sector by engaging in a streamlined version of species mitigation banking. The feds argue that privatizing conservation in this way will promote efficient conservation, but critics say the streamlining has gone too far, and warn that a lack of checks and balances makes it difficult to know if the species are actually being protected – hardly a recipe for a clear, transparent, and fair market.
This month also saw the introduction of a bill in Washington State to coordinate Federal, State, and local governments in determining the location and extent of mitigation banks and their service areas. There may be some useful guidance here for other regional markets around the country that find themselves with conflicts between local and State and Federal governments.
The Ecosystem Marketplace is actively looking for a Manager for its Biodiversity Program. Job description and application information can be found in the announcement box to the right.
—The Ecosystem Marketplace Team
If you have comments or would like to submit news stories, write to us at mitmail@ecosystemmarketplace.com.
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The US federal government has implemented a new scheme that pays private landowners to conserve species currently finding sanctuary on federal lands. Though similar to existing mitigation banking programs, critics say the new scheme lacks the controls needed to be effective. The Ecosystem Marketplace takes a hard look at the new market for Recovery Credits.
Go to the article
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Pomo tribe considering wetland mitigation bank (3/20/08)
The Pomo tribe is considering a mitigation bank on their 277-acre property south of Petaluma. Only 90 of 277 acres would be protected as open space. “The open space would serve as an agriculture and wetlands ‘mitigation bank’ for property the tribe is developing near River Rock Casino. About 25 of the remaining 187 acres are zoned for commercial uses, such as offices, restaurants, gas stations or similar projects.”
Read story in The Argus Courier (Petaluma, California)
Fayette County school board may profit from wetlands (3/18/08)
"What may seem to some to be commercially useless wetlands property might provide a source of revenue for the Fayette County Board of Education. Board members Monday heard a report from consultant Integrated Science & Engineering on the potential for the future sale of wetlands mitigation credits on 49.5 acres of unbuildable property at the Goza Road complex. Such a sale would bring substantially more than the appraised value of the property... mitigation credits might bring nearly $850,000, or 3.5 times the appraised value."
Read story in The Citizen (Fayetteville, Georgia)
Washington State Bill to Include Local Governments in Bank Planning (3/6/08)
The Washington Department of Ecology will coordinate with governmental agencies, including the local government where the bank is located, prior to approving a bank. Local governments will have final approval over the certification of the mitigation banks. The DOE will create criteria for determining service areas in order to restrict the maximum extent of the service area of a bank to the Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA) where the bank is located. However, a service area may include parts of other WRIAs if it is ecologically defensible and appropriate.
Read the bill (Washington State)
Wetland Bank Plan Awash in Concerns (3/7/08)
Opposition to a proposed wetland mitigation bank on farmland in Skagit County, Washington, is gaining momentum in the agricultural community. "While most people believe the goals of wetland mitigation banking projects have merit, many people are opposed to establishing them on farmland. [Opponents] point out that not only does the project violate the state's Growth Management Act, which mandates the protection of farmland, but that it also threatens surrounding farms by changing the drainage system."
Read story in CapitalPress (Western US)
The Wetlandsbank Group announces Delta Mitigation Bank in Mississippi (1/25/08)
The Wetlandsbank Group has announced the Delta Mitigation Bank, a 500 acre wetland bank located in the Yazoo Basin in northern Mississippi. The service area of the bank occupies much of the floodplains east of the Mississippi River in the Northwest portion of the state.
Read press release
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