Endangered Species Conservation Banking

1
Endangered Species Conservation Banking

• Michael Bean
• Chair, Wildlife Program

2
Basic duties of the ESA

• No take of listed animals without a permit.
• Federal actions must not jeopardize listed
  species.

3
The exceptions

• Take incidental to otherwise lawful activities
  permitted if mitigated (9).
• Federal agencies can incorporate conservation
  measures in project descriptions to avoid
  jeopardy (7).

4
Terminology Why conservation rather than
mitigation banks?

• Wetland mitigation banking has been highly
  controversial.
• No obligation to impose mitigation under 7.

5
A quick history of endangered species
conservation banking

• First banks pre-dated any banking policy.
• California promulgated first banking policy in
  1995.
• First formal FWS guidance in May 2003.
• NOAA-Fisheries has neither policy nor banking
  experience.

6
The federal guidance

• Notice of availability published in Federal
  Register, but not the guidance itself.
• No public input on the guidance.

7
Conservation Bank defined
A parcel of land containing natural resource
values that are conserved and managed in
perpetuity, through a conservation easement held
by an entity responsible for enforcing the terms
of the easement, for specified listed species and
used to offset impacts occurring elsewhere to the
same resource values on non-bank lands.
8
Credits defined
Credits are the quantification of a species or
habitats conservation values within a bank.
9
More on credits

• In its simplest form, one credit will equal one
  acre of habitat or the area supporting one nest
  site or family group.
• The most important consideration for any
  mitigation requirements is that they should be
  proportionate to the extent of the impact and
  consistent from project to project.

10
What actions produce credits?

• Unlike wetland banking policy, endangered species
  banking policy welcomes acquisition or protection
  of existing habitat.
• Credits for creating or restoring habitat are
  possible, but seldom pursued in practice.

11
Where can credits be used?

• Within specified service areas.
• Service areas generally correspond to recovery
  units in recovery plans.

12
Some practical challenges

• Quantification of credits (and debits) is
  relatively subjective and difficult.
• Acres are often a poor surrogate for conservation
  values.
• Potential market for credits may be very local
  and very small.
• Market is further undermined by inconsistent
  enforcement.

13
Some examples of endangered species conservation
banks

• International Paper red-cockaded woodpecker bank.
• Hickory Pass Ranch bank for golden-cheeked
  warbler.
• Mobile Area Sewer and Water Commission gopher
  tortoise bank.
• Coles Levee Bank for California gnatcatcher.