New Opportunities in Wetland Mitigation Banking
Wetland mitigation banking is the restoration, creation or enhancement of wetlands for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location. Wetland mitigation banking is commonly used to compensate for wetland impacts from development, but it also used for impacts from agriculture. Producers can buy credits from wetlands mitigation banks to compensate for the impact of lost wetlands. When a mitigation bank is established, the landowner retains ownership and use of the property, while a conservation easement protects the wetlands from degrading activities. The size and scope of the wetland restoration, creation or enhancement activities determine the quantity of credits available for sale. The price of credits is negotiated between the buyer and seller.
Kentucky River Properties, along with our partner, Creekbankers, has successfully established one bank site in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky (McNary), and is currently working on a second site in Indiana. Our McNary bank site has a total of 194 credits, with 54 of those available now for sale. The Indiana site will have 183 credits for sale when complete.