March 2007

ARTICLES  
     

  Conservation Banking in Florida
  Sheri Ford Lewin

      

Florida’s first two conservation banks are expected to receive final approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in spring 2007, opening our state to an entire new industry of environmental trading. The 2003 Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Conservation Banks,[1] issued by the USFWS outlines the parameters for this type of ecological banking system by public or private entities. This program has been developed as a tool to offset adverse impacts to species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, and its guidelines are based on the established wetland mitigation banking program.

Conservation banks are permanently protected public or private lands that are managed for endangered, threatened, and other at-risk species. Through the approval process of a conservation bank, a management plan is developed, the elements of the conservation easement are defined, and long term funding mechanisms are established to manage the land in perpetuity. Like a biological bank account, once approved and established, the conservation bank owner/operator receives habitat or species credits to use or sell.

Who benefits from Conservation Banking?

1. Landowners – A conservation bank is a market enterprise that offers incentives to protect habitats of endangered, threatened, or other at-risk species. Large tracts of land can generate income without dividing parcels or developing property in the traditional sense, but rather by managing the land in a fashion beneficial to the appropriately identified species.

2. Public and Private Developers – Commercial developers, homeowners and transportation agencies are required to compensate for unavoidable adverse species impacts. Offsite is often the best solution. Conservation Banks offer a predictable solution with regulatory certainty.

3. Listed Species and other wildlife and plants – The establishment of large areas for conservation to compensate for multiple projects is more likely to ensure ecosystem success, fosters biodiversity and provides opportunity for linking existing protected habitat as opposed to smaller, project-specific mitigation.

4. The public and community – The protection of large areas of open space contributes to a healthy environment especially when conservation banking works in concert with regional conservation planning.

However, in order for conservation banking in Florida to evolve into a viable option for landowners and end users, several essential elements must be in place.

1. Clear and predictable enforcement of laws regulating impacts. Enforcement provides the demand for conservation action on a larger scale, without which there will be no supply

2. Level playing field for all forms of mitigation. This includes equivalent success criteria and full cost accounting for all forms of mitigation whether provided by a public entity, NGO, or private provider.

3. Flexibility while maintaining Sound Science. Success criteria should incorporate flexibility through the intelligent use of credit ratios, currency types and service territory variations as long as ecological functionality is truly replaced.

These essential elements can create a market based solution for Florida that is responsive, efficient and provides incentives to landowners interested in conservation practices.

One of the first Conservation Banks expecting final approval this spring is located in Hendry County. The Florida Panther Conservation Bank is 1,930 acres in size and its primary goal is to provide habitat for Florida Panther. In addition, the Bank provides habitat for a multitude of species including the Florida Black Bear, several species of Raptors and the Red Cockaded Woodpecker. This Conservation Bank has been in the approval process since 2004 through the South Florida Ecological Services office of the USFWS located in Vero Beach, Florida.

Also expecting final approval this year from the USFWS is the HD Ryals Conservation Bank. Located in Charlotte County, this bank site is approximately 1,650 acres in size and will be managed for Florida Scrub Jay habitat. The bank has been in the approval process for just under one year. Both bank sponsors are private landowners.

Initiating the Conservation Banking program in Florida has not been without challenges. Both groups associated with the above-noted banks and the USFWS admit that the process has been difficult and slow due to several factors; 1) lack of precedent in Florida or detailed guidelines in the guidance, and 2) the desire by the USFWS to get the program started on the “right-track”. However, with an additional four conservation bank applications in for review at the USFWS’ Vero Beach office, the program should be fairly well established by the end of 2007.

According to the USFWS staff in South Florida, there is a great and immediate need for conservation banks in Florida to offset impacts to habitat for the Florida Panther, Florida Scrub Jay and Sand Skink. The USFWS is doing their part to promote conservation banking in Florida through outreach to landowners and consultants at appropriate conferences, along with enforcement education at county environmental meetings and USFWS field offices.

With all the essential elements in place, conservation banking, by providing a market incentive to private landowners, can play a key role in solving Florida’s conservation challenges.
 


Sheri Ford Lewin is Vice President of Mitigation Marketing LLC. Mitigation Marketing provides Management and Marketing Services to Wetland Mitigation Banks and Conservation Banks throughout Florida from their offices in Orlando. Sheri can be reached at sheri@mitigationmarketing.com or 407-481-0677.

[1] A copy of the Guidance is available at: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/policies/conservation-banking.pdf

 

 

Copyright © 2008, The Environmental and Land Use Law Section of The Florida Bar