River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank, Yolo County
With November 1st marking the start of the elderberry plant’s dormant season, the Wildlands transplant team is already busy relocating elderberry shrubs to the River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank in Yolo County. The valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB) is completely dependent on its host plant and according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s VELB Conservation Guidelines, transplants must occur when the plants are dormant, approximately November through the first two weeks in February. The Bank is currently receiving transplanted elderberry shrubs for any projects with shrubs that cannot be avoided and also offers agency-approved conservation credits to complete your project’s VELB mitigation obligation. The transplant calendar is filling up fast – contact us today to schedule a site visit and receive a transplant estimate at no charge.
Merced County CTS Conservation Banks
Wildlands operates the Great Valley and Deadman Creek Conservation Banks in Merced County, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to offer mitigation credits for vernal pool branchiopods, California Tiger Salamander (CTS) breeding and upland aestivation habitat, and San Joaquin kit fox upland habitat. In 2010 the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) listed CTS as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act. As part of the effort to add CDFW approval to the banks, Wildlands has been conducting annual CTS surveys to observe presence and collecting supporting data for the proposed bank amendments. Survey results show that CTS breeding is successfully occurring throughout the pools and CTS have been detected in multiple pools across the banks.
Alder Creek Restoration Project, Multnomah County, Oregon
Planting will be completed this year on the 52-acre Alder Creek Restoration Project located on the southern tip of Sauvie Island, where the Willamette River and Multnomah Channel intersect north of downtown Portland. Planting began in 2015, and by the end of this year more than 32,000 marsh plants and 68,000 trees and shrubs will have been planted on the site. The planting effort took a combined 11 weeks and over 15,000 man-hours. Establishment of the restoration project resulted in the first release of Credits that can be used to offset Natural Resource Damages (NRD) resulting from past industrial use along the Willamette River in Portland Harbor. Please contact us to learn more about reserving or purchasing Credits.
Toad Hill Ranch Mitigation Bank, Placer County
The final release of seasonal wetland creation credits is under review by the Interagency Review Team (IRT) and is expected in late 2016/early 2017. The release will also include a number of vernal pool creation credits, authorized to fulfill permit obligations for both 404 and ESA impacts. The credits are available to offset wetland and/or vernal pool crustacean habitat impacts for projects located within the bank’s approved service area, which includes portions of Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.. A portion of the credits have already been reserved; please contact us today to inquire about reserving credits if you have a project with seasonal wetland or vernal pool mitigation needs within the Bank’s service area.
Please contact us today for information about current availability, reservations of any future credits, or to inquire whether your project is covered by our service areas.
