Conservation Banking

Conservation banks are large preserve areas that are managed, and in some cases, restored to protect specific threatened and endangered species and their habitats. An approved conservation bank can provide appropriate compensation for resource agency permitted species impacts. Conservation banks operate similar to mitigation banks, whereas project proponents impacting species habitat may purchase conservation bank credits to offset their impacts.

Project Highlights

Ridge Cut Giant Garter Snake Conservation Bank

The Ridge Cut Giant Garter Snake Conservation Bank is a 185.9-acre site approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to offset impacts to the state and federally listed giant garter snake and is currently under review for approval by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. The Bank is located in Yolo County, California and has provided mitigation solutions for various public and private projects within its service area.

Buena Creek Conservation Bank

The Buena Creek Conservation Bank in Northern San Diego County, California provides 121-acres of habitat for the federally listed California coastal gnatcatcher. The Bank has provided solutions for developers, public transportation, and military projects in the region.

River Ranch Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle (VELB) Conservation Bank

The 211-acre River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank is located in Yolo County, California. It was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2005 to sell conservation credits for the loss of VELB habitat within the approved service area. The service area corresponds with the range of the VELB throughout the Central Valley and associated foothills, which includes all or portions of 31 counties within California.

Liberty Island Native Fisheries Conservation Bank

The Liberty Island Native Fisheries Conservation Bank, located in Yolo County, California, provides critical intertidal habitat for all Delta fish species, including Central Valley Chinook salmon, Delta Smelt, Longfin Smelt, and California Central Valley steelhead. The project has been approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to provide native fisheries recovery mitigation solutions for projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh.

Great Valley Conservation Bank

The Great Valley Conservation Bank is located in an unincorporated portion of Merced County, California. The Bank consists of 1,067 acres of grasslands and wetlands, including approximately 86.88 acres of vernal pools, 30.34 acres of vernal swales, and an additional 950 acres of upland habitat. The Bank was established to continue the existence and recovery efforts for the federally threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp, California tiger salamander, the federally endangered vernal pool tadpole shrimp, and the federally endangered and California threatened San Joaquin kit fox, while also providing habitat for other locally important species such as the Western spadefoot toad and Western burrowing owl.

Fremont Landing Conservation Bank

The Fremont Landing Conservation Bank is a 100-acre site located at the confluence of the Feather and Sacramento Rivers in Yolo County, California. The Bank is approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service to provide off-site mitigation/compensation for development actions that affect Central Valley anadromous salmonids and their habitats, which are protected by various federal legislative acts including the Endangered Species Act.

Rogue Valley Mitigation and Conservation Bank

The Rogue Valley Mitigation and Conservation Bank was established in 2012 in Jackson County, Oregon. The 131.43-acre Bank property supports a large, intact expanse of vernal pools and swales with known occurrences of the federally threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp and the federally endangered large-flowered woolly meadowfoam. The Bank serves as mitigation and compensation for projects resulting in impacts to vernal pools and other types of wetlands within the service area of the Bank.