Mitigation Banks

By Pam Mc'Kie, Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs

You can't cash your checks there, but the returns that are earned by Mitigation Banking benefit all of us. Before this statutory creation was established, wetland preservation was a spotty shotgun target of tiny wetland preserves, often connected to nothing and quickly drying up and losing their natural benefits. With the implementation of mitigation banks, wetland preservation has become more significant to people and to wildlife, because significant parcels of wetlands can be preserved as a part of an integrated natural system.

Mitigation banks allow for the preservation of "working" wetlands, which serve as nurseries for most fish, homes to wildlife and birds, and essential drinking-water supply recharge areas for all of us. Mitigation banks also serve as the cleansers of human activity by scrubbing our storm water runoff before discharge into pristine waterways.

Another human benefit that is not often recognized is the flood control benefits of mitigation banks – it is estimated that in coastal areas each square mile of wetlands absorbs enough water to reduce a hurricane storm surge by one foot.

Clearly, mitigation banks pay dividends to us all!