Environmental Banc & Exchange

Habitat/Endangered Species Mitigation Banking

Habitat banking (also referred to as conservation and/or endangered species banking) is an effective and efficient means of helping to ensure that there is no net loss of endangered and threatened species (ETS) habitat, with the very real potential for a net gain. The concept is similar to the other environmental markets with the one notable difference that animal species are a critical part of the success criteria.

The fundamental premise of habitat banking is to identify existing or degraded habitats that may be conducive to supporting colonies of ETS. Credits are allocated to the banks through the regulatory agencies, and can be acquired by various stakeholders to compensate for unavoidable impacts to endangered species habitat.

Habitat mitigation banks are typically designed to consolidate the acquisition of mitigation land into large and biologically meaningful parcels. Credits are compiled in order to maximize restoration of degraded habitat.

Conservation banking is enabled by the legal requirements of the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA). A "Conservation Banking Agreement" is the most standardized mechanism for creating bankable endangered species credits. Under this agreement, the bank sponsor agrees to permanently protect, restore, and manage the habitat on the banking property. Permanent protection is accomplished via a conservation easement.