Ecological Offsets as a Mechanism for Meaningful Restoration

Mitigation projects, also known as ecological offsets, are restoration projects required by a regulatory agency to compensate for proposed impacts to a regulated resource. Most of these mitigation projects follow a “no net loss” or “net conservation benefit” rule that require the permittee to offset at a 1:1 (or greater) ratio. While these projects exist to offset permitted impacts, these projects are able to fund the development of ecologically meaningful and regionally important restoration projects throughout the landscape. This talk will provide an introduction to the mitigation/restoration world and highlight some of the wetland, stream, and threatened/endangered species mitigation projects I have been part of. Examples will include mitigation projects related to both renewable and non-renewable development and will show how these can be developed to ensure the greatest ecological benefit possible.