Environmental Banc & Exchange

In the News

EBX Awarded Contract for First Large Scale Endangered Species Bank on East Coast

July 24, 2007, Baltimore, MD The Sustainable Land Fund (SLF) has selected Environmental Banc and Exchange (EBX) to develop an 800 acre endangered species conservation bank in West Virginia, the first significant project of its kind, both in size and number of species, on the East Coast. EBX will create the bank to generate and offer endangered species "credits" to public and private enterprises in West Virginia which currently have projects that impact high elevation wildlife habitat.

According to Dixon Harvey, CEO of the Sustainable Land Fund, "We selected EBX due their extensive experience in ecosystem mitigation and restoration. They are the leader both in East Coast environmental banking and turnkey restoration. It’s only natural they will assume leadership in habitat banking as well."

SLF has contracted with EBX to create a habitat conservation bank of approximately 800 acres adjacent to the Monongahela National Forest’s proposed Roaring Plains Wilderness. EBX is working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to establish the bank.

EBX has started work on the project and expects to complete it within six to twelve months. Known as Thunderstruck Conservation, the project is ideal habitat for several endangered and imperiled species, including the West Virginia northern flying squirrel, the Cheat Mountain salamander, the Northern saw-whet owl, and various rare cave species. It also is a top conservation priority of The Nature Conservancy, and the State of West Virginia.

EBX is America’s leading turn-key provider of ecosystem mitigation and restoration solutions. The firm has completed over 35 ecosystem mitigation banks and client specific projects nationwide, restored over 40 miles of stream, restored over 6,000 wetland acres, and rehabilitated numerous other critical habitats. EBX works with private and public sector clients to provide turn-key solutions which offset unavoidable environmental impacts.

This will be the first wildlife habitat conservation bank the firm has done. EBX is also investigating other similar conservation bank opportunities on the East Coast.

"This is a thrilling project," says Randy Wilgis, President of Environmental Banc & Exchange, (EBX). "This tract is one of the most environmentally significant and biologically diverse properties in the mid-Atlantic, and it represents a perfect candidate to create the first significant endangered species habitat conservation bank in the East Coast area. We see tremendous potential in habitat banking as an addition to our portfolio."

For Thunderstruck Conservation, SLF acquired a 2000 acre parcel of forested land adjacent to the Monongahela National Forest in Randolph County, West Virginia from MeadWestvaco in June. SLF will implement a land use plan incorporating significant preservation of ecologically sensitive areas, restoration of endangered species habitat, sustainable timber practices, and limited development, announced Dixon Harvey, Founder and CEO of the SLF. Harvey credited The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia for its vision in bringing the project together.

"The scale of conservation work needed to have a genuine impact already exceeds what current levels of philanthropic giving and public funding can achieve. Adding private investment capital to the mix provides us an opportunity to protect lands and habitats we otherwise could not," says Rodney Bartgis, West Virginia state director for The Nature Conservancy, a leading, non-profit conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. "This approach creatively combines land conservation with continuing economic uses of the land."

Founded in 1997, Environmental Banc & Exchange is America's leading turn-key provider of ecosystem mitigation and restoration solutions. The firm has completed over 35 mitigation banks and client specific projects nationwide, restored over 34 miles of stream, restored over 6000 wetland acres, and rehabilitated numerous other critical habitats. EBX works with private and public sector clients to provide turn-key solutions which offset environmental impacts. Each solution involves the unique combination of our products and services reflecting the particular project requirements and challenges.

Contact
Janet Harvey
410-356-5159, ext 247