New Search
Conservation /Mitigation Bank <br />A conservation bank (or in the case of wetlands, a mitigation bank) is a parcel, or a <br />series of parcels of land, whose natural resource values are sold to those who must <br />compensate for adverse resource impacts on land elsewhere. Conservation banking is <br />possible and necessary because of laws that mandate mitigation of environmentally <br />adverse projects or activities. Under many long- standing statutes, any individual, firm, <br />or public agency that undertakes activities that destroy, degrade, or adversely alter the <br />environment may be required to set aside and /or restore habitat in order to offset the <br />adverse impacts of the proposed activity. For the area impacted, a project proponent <br />may be required to set aside or restore an equivalent or greater amount of acres or <br />resource values. This mechanism provides local governments flexibility in their land <br />use decisions and gives communities the ability to protect a single, larger area rather <br />than smaller scattered tracts of land. <br />Open Space Acquisition Funding and Protection Strategies - Draft October 2001 15 <br />