Landowners will gain a chance to be paid for wetlands preservation under a USDA project to create at least nine wetland mitigation banks, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. USDA will put $9 million into the project to help states, local governments and other sponsors set up wetland mitigation banks to restore, create or enhance wetlands.
The banks would compensate farmers for conservation projects that offset losses of wetlands on other farms. The federal government has a goal of no net loss of wetlands.
Mitigation banking “is a way to encourage farmers to preserve wetlands and get paid for it,” said Vilsack during a teleconference. The new mitigation banks would be restricted to agriculture, which means farmers will not compete with developers to acquire credits – a problem that has occurred in other programs.
Maximum award in the USDA project will be $1 million, so several mitigation banks might be funded. Vilsack said $9 million “is a lot of money” since operators of the banks may use their awards to leverage additional funding. None of USDA’s money can be used to purchase easements.
Mitigation credits must be available to producers within two years of an agreement to establish a mitigation bank. Proposals are due at USDA on March 28. Priority will be given to areas, such as the prairie potholes region of the northern Plains and vernal pools in California, with a significant workload in complying with farm program rules against draining wetlands.
In late 2014, USDA helped launch a market for carbon credits generated on working grasslands on ranches in North Dakota. Chevrolet purchased credits for 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide reduction on the grassland.