The new Eugene Water & Electric Board’s (EWEB) operations center aims to be green. The center will be LEED-certified and one of the first public facilities in Oregon to comply with a new state law requiring that at least 1.5 percent of the project costs be dedicated to solar energy measures. EWEB also plans to restore about seven acres of wetlands and several acres of uplands on the property, in addition to paying about $435,000 to the West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank to purchase or restore an additional 8.7 acres of wetlands off site.

Charlotte County has been interested in setting up a scrub jay mitigation bank for years. A county-controlled parcel would allow for easy and relatively inexpensive mitigation for land owners affected by the presence of scrub jays. Ryals Ranch, the largest contiguous piece of scrub jay habitat in Charlotte County, might just be the perfect opportunity. But the County will need to come up with $27.3 million.

Industrial real-estate firm ProLogis is redeveloping a 300-acre tract of land in Port Reading, New Jersey, into 3.2 million square feet of warehouse space. As part of the process, ProLogis is undertaking $10 million in environmental remediation — some mandated, some not. ProLogis went beyond the requirements, creating a 12-acre wetland mitigation bank. The mitigation credits earn by developing the bank may be sold to other developers, or saved to offset future internal use.

An internal report determined that the biodiversity impacts of Meridian's proposed Mokihinui hydro-dam in New Zealand may be unfeasible to fully offset. Meridian is accused of choosing to hush the report up in favor of its commercial interests.

“Three ag-preservation groups have joined forces against a highly controversial project that would convert 396 acres of prime farmland - part of a 776-acre dairy farm in the Nookachamps basin - into a wetland mitigation bank. The groups - Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, the Skagit County Farm Bureau, and Friends of Skagit County - recently filed an appeal contesting the county's determination that the project would have no significant adverse impact on the environment. …Clear Valley is now describing the wetlands project as also a native seed and plant nursery and therefore a legitimate agricultural use of the land.”

“Sydney-based New Forests has launched a US$100 million fund dubbed the Eco Products Fund. It is being co-managed by Equator Environmental, and is based on long-term growth prospects for ecosystem services markets, or forest land. The fund will invest in a suite of environmental credit positions associated with carbon, biodiversity and water.”

Members of the Volusia County Council are considering a system of transferable of development rights to manage conflicting conservation and development priorities. “Currently, owners of agricultural property may see selling their farmland for development as an attractive option, even a retirement plan. That contributes to sprawl. Transfer of development rights (TDR) could keep development in clusters, closer to cities, instead of spreading into the Natural Resource Management Area (NRMA) in the center of the county, and into other environmental areas.”

“The Land Trust [of Santa Cruz County] secured the final major piece of funding, a $1.5 million grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board, to purchase 189 acres of sandhills habitat. Over the next five years, the organization hopes to buy the “best 700” of the existing 4,000 acres. …The Land Trust will purchase the land from PCO LLC, which founded the Zayante Sandhills Conservation Bank, a group dedicated to preserving the natural sandhills habitat.”

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its long-awaited new wetland rules. "It will accelerate our wetlands conservation effort by establishing a more effective, consistent mitigation process," said Benjamin Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator for water. The new rules will encourage the use of wetland banks for mitigation. If wetland bank credits are not available, only then will in lieu fees or project specific mitigation be allowed.

The flat and fertile land of the mid-Willamette valley makes it highly desirable for both farming and development. It also makes it highly likely to contain wetlands. This makes is an attractive location for wetland mitigation banks. Well, that, and that the going rate for credits hovering between $65,000 and $90,000 an acre.

A private equity firm has purchased the rights to environmental services generated by a 371,000-hectare rainforest reserve in Guyana. From a mitigation banker’s perspective, this is the mother of all gambles. We think there is regulatory uncertainty in our market? Imagine no certainty. But Canopy Capital is betting that the services generated by this living rainforest — including rainfall generation, climate regulation, biodiversity maintenance and water storage — will eventually see compensation in international markets. Now that’s thinking big.