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The Carolina Heelsplitter Conservation Bank

The Carolina Heelsplitter Conservation Bank is dedicated to preserving, enhancing, and restoring key parcels of land in target watersheds with viable populations of the Federally Endangered Carolina heelsplitter mussel. The Bank offers a creative, landscape scale solution to the preservation and recovery of this rare and endangered mussel species.

The service area of the Bank includes watersheds with known populations of the Carolina heelsplitter mussel in North and South Carolina. Credits may be purchased from the Bank and used to offset mitigation requirements associated with the Carolina heelsplitter mussel with the approval of federal, state and/or local agencies.

Regulatory considerations

To discuss how the Bank can assist you in meeting your compensatory requirements, please contact Randy Wilgis, 803-432-4890 (ofc) 410-236-5123 (cell)

We are glad to share our experiences in working out collaborative Heelsplitter mitigation solutions between local governments, regulatory agencies, and developers. Contact Randy Wilgis,

Pictured Above: Exterior shell of the Carolina Heelsplitter

A landowner or developer may need to mitigate for direct or indirect impacts to the Carolina heelsplitter mussel, or associated habitat, if one of the following applies to the project:

• Section 7 and Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act provides the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service jurisdiction on projects which involve Federal monies, projects requiring a Federal permit, (such as a 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers), or projects covered by a Habitat Conservation Plan
• For projects in South Carolina within the Six Mile Creek watershed, Lancaster County Ordinance #963 (amended version of Ordinance #901) specifies mitigation requirements for the creation of impervious surface and/or impacts to riparian buffers.
• Situations where a project sponsor desires to eliminate the potential for liability from future impacts through a consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
• State, county or local regulations and/or ordinances which may require mitigation for projects located in watersheds with known Carolina heelsplitter populations.
  

The Carolina Heelsplitter Mussel is Unique and Rare

• Historically, the Carolina heelsplitter was estimated to have a distribution covering much of the Piedmont sections of the Savannah, Santee-Cooper, and Pee Dee river basins. 
• Today the endemic Carolina heelsplitter mussel species is limited to a small area of the Piedmont within North and South Carolina, with small populations remaining in only 10 creek or headwater river watersheds.
• Habitat destruction due to silviculture, development, and agriculture has reduced and fragmented habitat.
• The Carolina heelsplitter historically served an important function in maintaining water quality in North and South Carolina.   It was also an important component within aquatic food webs.

Conservation Bank Property is High-Quality Habitat

The initial phase of the Carolina Heelsplitter Conservation Bank encompasses approximately 810 acres of land and is situated adjacent to the Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve in Lancaster County.  This property is located within the Flat Creek watershed, which has one of the most viable populations of the Carolina heelsplitter in the Carolinas.   The Bank includes approximately 400 acres of riparian buffers which protect three major tributaries feeding into Flat Creek, and 25 acres of high quality wetlands.  The Bank will incorporate a trust fund to support the ongoing research and surveying efforts to provide long term protection and re-establishment of the endangered Carolina heelsplitter, along with an endowment fund to protect, manage and monitor the land in perpetuity.

Carolina Heelsplitter Credit Purchasing Process

Credit calculation ratios for projects in the Six Mile Creek watershed in Lancaster County, SC can be found in County Ordinance #963.   Per the ordinance, credits need to be acquired prior to release of the grading permit.

If your project is in North Carolina or in South Carolina outside of the Six Mile Creek watershed, the Bank will have a service area approved by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service encompassing all of North and South Carolina but the use of credits from the Bank is subject to approval by state and local regulatory agencies.

To discuss how the Carolina Heelsplitter Conservation Bank can assist you in meeting your Carolina heelsplitter compensatory requirements, please contact Randy Wilgis with the Environmental Banc & Exchange.  Randy can be reached at:

803-432-4890 (ofc)
410-236-5123 (cell)