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V. WET REPORTS FROM THE FIELD <br /> A. City of Eugene <br /> Mr. Kroeck provided an update on the 1135 project to remove the levies on the Amazon Channel in <br /> west Eugene and to restore the channel to its former hydrology. He said that BLM owned <br /> approximately 80 percent of the involved acreage, and the City would purchase the remainder. He <br /> termed the project exciting and anticipated that specs would be produced within the next few months. <br /> The project was proposed for summer in 1999. Restoration of the grass prairie wetland would follow. <br /> Mr. Kroeck provided an update on four mitigation bank projects proposed for construction or design in <br /> the upcoming summer, the Isabel site, North Greenhill site, West Danebo Beaver Run site, and West <br /> Danebo Balboa site. He said that LCOG staff was producing the mitigation improvement plans <br /> (MIPs). He also noted two sites in planning for the next construction season, Oxbow East and Oxbow <br /> West. <br /> Mr. Kroeck reported that the Mayor's Parks and Open Space Committee had completed its work and <br /> had forwarded a $25 million bond measure to the City Council for its consideration. He anticipated <br /> that the council would hold a public hearing on the measure before placing it on the November ballot. <br /> Mr. Kroeck said that the mitigation bank was operating smoothly and there was considerable demand <br /> for the credits available now. He hoped the mitigation bank could generate sufficient credits to meet <br /> projected requests in the fall as a result of some large projects coming to fruition. He noted that the <br /> mitigation bank's success allowed the City to contribute more to the cost of the youth crews. <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Williamson, Mr. Kroeck said that the cost of an acre of mitigation <br /> was $30,000. He said that credits continued to sell very well at that price. He noted the possibility <br /> that project costs in the future could decline because previous projects had been costly due to the need <br /> for fill. Mr. Kroeck also hoped that the 1135 project would generate a substantial number of credits. <br /> Mr. Gordon anticipated the renewal of the Clear Water Act would .include provisions related to <br /> mitigation banking, which was an approach that seemed to have bipartisan support. He said that the <br /> City's bank was the only public bank in Oregon. Mr. Gordon noted that operators of private banks <br /> were concerned about public subsidies to public banks. Mr. Beall said that restoration on public sites <br /> in Eugene was generally of higher quality than on private sites because of more extensive follow -up in <br /> terms of maintenance and monitoring. <br /> B. BLM <br /> Mr. Beall provided an update on site acquisitions using a map of the plan area. He noted the uncertain <br /> status of federal Land and Water Conservation Funds. Mr. Gordon added that at this point there was <br /> no funding for property acquisition in a supplemental bill currently under consideration in the House of <br /> Representatives. He said that Eugene would ask Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden to include <br /> MINUTES— Wetland Executive Team June 19, 1998 Page 3 <br />