Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it is investing $7 million in eight projects to support the development of wetland mitigation banks for agricultural producers through the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program (WMBP). Through wetland mitigation banks, wetlands are restored, created or enhanced, generating credits that can be purchased by producers looking to compensate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location.
And this year’s awards include a Georgia project. $641,590 is being awarded to Corblu Ecology Group LLC. They will be developing a new mitigation site under the Georgia Agricultural Wetland Bank umbrella banking instrument to meet the needs of producers in Georgia. The site is proposed to be in the coastal plain ecoregion in a high or moderate priority watershed and will include up to 50 acres of wetland restoration/enhancement.
To participate in most USDA programs, agricultural producers agree to comply with the wetland conservation provisions, which means producers will not farm converted wetlands or convert wetlands to enable agricultural production. In situations where avoidance or on-site mitigation is challenging, the Farm Bill allows for off-site mitigation through the purchase of mitigation banking credits.
WMBP award recipients can use WMBP funding to support the costs of developing and establishing a wetland mitigation bank, like costs for site identification, development of a mitigation banking instrument, site restoration, land surveys, permitting and title searches, and market research. Funding cannot be used to purchase land or a conservation easement.
When a mitigation bank is established, the landowner retains ownership and use of the property, while a conservation easement protects the wetlands from incompatible degrading activities.
More information is available on the Georgia Natural Resources Conservation Service website.