Reid Sisson
Reid Sisson, Wetland Mitigation Banking As A Tool For Conservation
Faculty Chair: Dr. John Tucker
This comment proposes that wetland mitigation banking under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act be employed by land trusts and conservation groups to generate revenue for funding land acquisitions and on-going stewardship for both wetland and wetland-related upland habitats threatened or impacted by development. Conservation groups and land trusts can use mitigation banking to generate revenue to fund their conservation goals. General background on the Clean Water Act - Section 404 and regulations affecting wetlands, compensatory mitigation and mitigation banking is provided. Included are general problems with monitoring and enforcement of mitigation, pros and cons of preservation as compensatory mitigation, arguments for including upland buffers, and a recommendation for helping fund monitoring and enforcement activities.
