Abstract
With the recent Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule by the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Environmental Protection Agency, wetland mitigation banking has been designated as the preferred means of compensatory mitigation after avoidance and minimization of wetland impacts. Permits and supporting documents were reviewed and site visits conducted at 29 Florida wetland mitigation banks to assess their permit-based success. Just over half of the banks included three or more ecological criteria in permit success requirements. Release of a majority of potential credits (60–75%) was strongly based on completion of activities (e.g. conservation easement, financial assurance, ditch filling). A review of bank compliance suggested that over 40% of banks had reached final success criteria or were clearly trending towards success, but that 17% of the banks were not trending towards success. Most banks were deemed successful according to permit criteria and compliance considerations, although permit criteria were not explicitly tied to ecological considerations. While permit success criteria may have been met, it was unclear what level of functional performance wetland mitigation banks provided.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Adams, S. M. 2002. Biological indicators of aquatic ecosystem stress: introduction and overview. p. 1–11.In S. M. Adams (ed.) Biological Indicators of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Ambrose, R. F., J. C. Callaway, and F. F. Lee. 2006. An evaluation of compensatory mitigation projects permitted under Clean Water Act Section 401 by the California State Water Quality Control Board, 1991–2002. California Environmental Protection Agency, California State Water Resources Control Board, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 03-259-250-0.
Aresco, M. J. 2005. Mitigation measures to reduce highway mortality of turtles and other herpetofauna at a north Florida lake. Journal of Wildlife Management 69: 549–60.
Ashley, E. P. and J. T. Robinson. 1996. Road mortality of amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife on the Long Point Causeway, Lake Erie, Ontario. Canadian Field Naturalist 110: 403–12.
Brody, S. D., S. E. Davis III, W. E. Highfield, and S. P. Bernhardt. 2008. A spatial-temporal analysis of Section 404 wetland permitting in Texas and Florida: thirteen years of impact along the coast. Wetlands 28: 107–16.
Brown, S. C. and P. L. M. Veneman. 2000. Effectiveness of compensatory wetland mitigation in Massachusetts, USA. Wetlands 21: 508–18.
Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources; Final Rule. 2008. Federal Register 73(70): 19593–19705. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/wetlandsmitigation/.
Cowardin, L. M., V. Carter, F. C. Goulet, and E. T. La Roe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. Northern Prairie Publication 0421.
Crawford, R. L. and T. R. Engstrom. 2001. Characteristics of avian mortality at a North Florida television tower: a 29-year study. Journal of Field Ornithology 72: 380–88.
Environmental Law Institute [ELI]. 2002. Banks and fees: the status of off-site wetland mitigation in the United States. Washington, DC, USA. Available at: http://www.elistore.org/reports_detail.asp?ID= 10695.
Environmental Law Institute [ELI]. 2005. 2005 status report on compensatory mitigation in the United States. Washington, DC, USA. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/pdf/ELIMitigation2005.pdf.
Faber-Langendoen, D., G. Kudray, C. Nordman, L. Sneddon, L. Vance, E. Byers, J. Rocchio, S. Gawler, G. Kittel, S. Menard, P. Comer, E. Muldavin, M. Schafale, T. Foti, C. Josse, and J. Christy. 2008. Ecological performance standards for wetland mitigation: an approach based on ecological integrity assessments. NatureServe, Arlington, VA, USA.
Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks. 1995. Federal Register 60(228): 58605–58614. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/mitbankn.html.
Florida Natural Areas Inventory [FNAI]. 1990. Guide to the natural communities of Florida. Tallahassee, FL, USA. Available at: http://www.fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm.
Forman, R. T. T. 2000. Estimate of the area affected ecologically by the road system in the United States. Conservation Biology 14: 31–35.
Forman, R. T. T. and R. D. Deblinger. 2000. The ecological road-effect zone of a Massachusetts (U.S.A.) suburban highway. Conservation Biology 14: 36–46.
Gibbons, J. W. 2003. Terrestrial habitat: a vital component for herpetofauna of isolated wetlands. Wetlands 23: 630–35.
Karr, J. R. 1981. Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries 6: 21–27.
Lane, C. R. and M. T. Brown. 2007. Diatoms as indicators of isolated herbaceous wetland condition in Florida, USA. Biological Indicators 7: 521–40.
Mack, J. J. 2007. Developing a wetland IBI with statewide application after multiple testing iterations. Ecological Indicators 7: 864–81.
Mack, J. J. and M. Micacchion. 2006. An ecological assessment of Ohio mitigation banks: vegetation, amphibians, hydrology, and soils. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Surface Water, Wetland Ecology Group, Columbus, Ohio, USA. Ohio EPA Technical Report WET/2006-1. Found at: http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/wetlands/WetlandEcologySection_reports.html.
McAllister, L. S., B. E. Peniston, S. G. Leibowitz, B. Abbruzzese, and J. B. Hyman. 2000. Synoptic assessment for prioritizing wetland restoration efforts to optimize flood attenuation. Wetlands 20: 70–83.
McKenna, Jr., J. E. 2003. Community metabolism during early development of a restored wetland. Wetlands 23: 35–50.
McPherson, G. R. and S. De Stefano. 2003. Applied Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA.
Miller, R. E. Jr. and B. E. Gunsalus. 1997. Wetland rapid assessment procedure. South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA. Technical Publication REG-001.
Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 2007. Wetlands, 4th edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, New York, USA.
Mitsch, W. J. and R. F. Wilson. 1996. Improving the success of wetland creation and restoration with know-how, time, and self-design. Ecological Applications 6: 77–83.
National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council [NRC]. 2001. Compensating for wetland losses under the Clean Water Act. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
Noble, C. V., R. Evans, M. McGuire, K. Trott, M. Davis, and E. J. Clairain, Jr. 2004. A regional guidebook for applying the hydrogeomorphic approach to assessing wetland functions of depressional wetlands in peninsular Florida. Wetlands Research Program, Engineer Research and Development Center, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. ERDC/EL TR-04-3.
Reiss, K. C. 2006. Florida Wetland Condition Index for depressional forested wetlands. Ecological Indicators 6: 337–52.
Reiss, K. C., E. Hernandez, and M. T. Brown. 2007. An evaluation of the effectiveness of mitigation banking in Florida: ecological success and compliance with permit criteria. Final report to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Prepared by the H.T. Odum Center for Wetlands, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. Available at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wetlands/mitigation/.
Ruiz-Jaen, M. C. and T. M. Aide. 2005. Restoration success: how is it being measured? Restoration Ecology 13: 569–77.
Society for Ecological Restoration International, Science & Policy Working Group [SER]. 2004. The SER International primer on ecological restoration. www.ser.org & Tucson: Society for Ecological Restoration International. Available at: http://www.ser.org.
Spieles, D. J. 2005. Vegetation development in created, restored, and enhanced mitigation wetland banks of the United States. Wetlands 25(l): 51–63.
Taylor, W. K. 1973. Black-throated blue and Cape May warblers killed in Central Florida. Bird Banding 44(4): 258–66.
Zampella, R. A. and K. J. Laidig. 2003. Functional equivalency of natural and excavated coastal plain ponds. Wetlands 23: 860–76.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reiss, K.C., Hernandez, E. & Brown, M.T. Evaluation of permit success in wetland mitigation banking: A Florida case study. Wetlands 29, 907–918 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1672/08-148.1
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/08-148.1