Wildlands is pleased to announce final bank approval on two important California mitigation banks that provide habitat to federally threatened species.

Locust Road Mitigation Bank

The first is Locust Road Mitigation Bank, a 75-acre bank located in Placer County, California west of the City of Roseville. Wildlands re-established 11.39 acres of vernal pools and 2.53 acres of seasonal wetlands, and these vernal pools serve as habitat for the federally threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi).

The bank received final approval in November 2013 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Bank credits are available to public and private developers to serve as mitigation for regional project impacts to vernal pool species and seasonal wetland habitats. For more info, contact us.

North Delta Fish Conservation Bank

For the North Delta Fish Conservation Bank, Wildlands worked in partnership with the landowners, The Trust for Public Land and Reclamation District 2093, to establish the 811-acre bank located on Liberty Island at the southern end of the Yolo Bypass, in the tidal primary zone of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The Bank will provide high quality habitat to benefit the following species which have special protection status under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and/or the California Endangered Species Act (CESA):

•  Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) and critical habitat;
•  Longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys);
•  Chinook salmon, Sacramento River winter-run (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and critical habitat;
•  Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run (O. tshawytscha) and critical habitat;
•  Steelhead, Central Valley Distinct Population Segment (DPS) (O. mykiss) and critical habitat;
•  Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), Southern DPS and critical habitat; and
•  Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata).

Final bank approval was received in October, 2013 from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)

The Bank will contribute towards the restoration and permanent protection of nearly 1,200 acres of fisheries habitat in the legal Delta and the Suisun Marsh sponsored by Wildlands, which also includes the existing Liberty Island Conservation Bank and Preserve, and the Honker Bay Conservation Bank and Preserve.

After implementation the project will result in the enhancement of over 657 acres of tidal marsh complex, including emergent marsh, seasonal wetland, riparian scrub shrub, and shallow open water habitats; over 68 acres of tidal channel enhancement; and over 32 acres of tidal emergent marsh creation through the removal of levees and lowering a portion of the existing floodplain habitat.

Both of these banks are permanently protected with a conservation easement held by Wildlife Heritage Foundation and a non-wasting endowment established to ensure management of the property in perpetuity.

Wildlands is proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming AEP Conference, being held March 23rd-26th, 2014 at the Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, California.

The conference is expected to draw attendance of over 300 environmental professionals from around the State and will feature over 38 AICP & MCLE credited conference sessions, 2 environmentally informative credited mobile workshops, over 25 exhibitors and sponsors and top industry keynote speakers.

The annual conference is geared toward environmental professionals and will cover a variety of topics, including NEPA and CEQA, Alternative Energy Development, Transportation, and Habitat Mitigation.

If you are planning to attend, make sure to stop by the Wildlands booth to introduce yourself and learn more about our environmental services.

A team from Wildlands recently provided a guided field trip of the Fremont Landing Conservation Bank for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Howard Brown (Sacramento River Basin Chief) and Maura Moody (Fisheries Biologist) headed up the 19 NMFS staff members that joined from the Sacramento and Santa Rosa field offices. Led by 6 Wildlands staff members, the two hour visit included an overview of the Bank along with a walking tour of the site itself.

The Fremont Landing Conservation Bank is one of three active NMFS-approved fish conservation banks operated by Wildlands in the Sacramento region. Projects which are required to consult with NMFS and need compensatory mitigation for impacts to listed salmonid species within the anadromous reaches of Central Valley Rivers are eligible to use the Bank’s credits. The 100-acre Bank is located at the confluence of the Feather and Sacramento Rivers in Yolo County, California and was constructed in the summer/fall of 2012.

The group was also introduced to Wildlands’ adjacent mitigation sites, the River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank, Swainson’s hawk preserves, and Wetland Mitigation Bank.

A majority of the NMFS team had not seen the site and greatly appreciated the opportunity.

Our next agency site tour takes place Thursday, March 27th at the River Ranch Wetland Mitigation Bank in Yolo County. Wildlands will be leading a tour for 40 members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) of the newly constructed wetlands bank.

Wildlands is pleased to be attending two upcoming conferences in California.

The first conference is the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) 2014 Spring Conference & Exhibition May 6-9, 2014 in Monterey, California. Click here to learn more about the ACWA conference.

We’ll also be exhibiting at the California Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL) 2014 Annual Conference May 13-15, 2014 in Santa Rosa, California. Learn more about the SERCAL show.

Please stop by our booth and meet our team if you’ll be attending either of these events.

The Alder Creek Restoration Project is an aquatic, riparian, and upland forest restoration and enhancement project developed in coordination with the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council. The habitat values provided by this Project can be used to offset Natural Resource Damages (NRD) resulting from past industrial use along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.

The Project is located on a 52.3-acre property on the southern tip of Sauvie Island, at the divergence of the Willamette River and Multnomah Channel, approximately 10 miles north of downtown Portland, and within the northern extent of the Portland Harbor Study Area (NOAA 2012).

The Project’s created, enhanced, and protected habitats will benefit fish and wildlife resources in the Lower Willamette River, an area that has experienced significant degradation of habitat including channelization, off-channel habitat removal, floodplain removal, silt loading, water temperature increases, and industrial contaminants.

Click here to learn more about the Alder Creek Restoration Project and inquire about reserving credits.

This summer, Wildlands sponsored the annual California Council of Land Trusts Mitigation Summit held at The California Endowment in Los Angeles. The Summit offered informative presentations and lively discussions on the latest mitigation topics in California.

The Summit was attended by mitigation bankers, land trusts, resource agencies and public/private development interests from all over California. We look forward to participating again in 2015.

Learn more about the California Council of Land Trusts

The Wildlands San Luis Rey Wetland Mitigation Bank was recently approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District and California Department of Fish and Wildlife, South Coast Region. The Bank is located north of State Route 76 and adjacent to Mission Vista High School in the City of Oceanside.

Once completed, the Bank will restore approximately 56 acres of native floodplain wetland habitat along the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside, California.

The property, acquired by Wildlands in 2011, was historically utilized for agriculture, but most recently for tomato cultivation. The Project will reconnect an 1,800 foot reach of the San Luis Rey River to established habitat both upstream and downstream of the property. Once completed, the bank will comprise a mosaic of riparian habitat suitable for native species.

The site is basically devoid of any wetland functionality or habitat value now, but once completed the Bank will provide flood benefits, sediment control and a wildlife corridor of suitable habitat for listed species such as the arroyo toad, southwestern willow flycatcher and Least Bell’s vireo. We’ve had this restoration project on our radar for many years and it has been a collaborative effort among Wildlands, the Corps and the Department throughout the approval process.

Wildlands is committed to supporting efforts here in our community, and those efforts can also have an impact abroad. Feed My Starving Children is a highly rated, 501(c)3 charity where 93% of all donations go directly toward packing and distribution of these meals.

Over the last four years, thousands of volunteers from the Sacramento area have come together to pack more than 1.8 million meals to feed malnourished children around the world. While we don’t know where meals packed will go before they are packed, we always know they will go to children in need. In 2013, 272,000 of the meals we packed were sent to the Philippines — helping in that country after the devastating typhoon.

Wildlands team members and their families joined thousands of other volunteers as an effort to pack more than 500,000 meals. The volunteers came in all ages and walks — church groups, neighborhoods, corporate teams and sports teams — all working together to pack meals in a unique assembly line fashion.

In addition to supporting this cause with our labor, we also made a donation that sponsored 11,363 meals!

While the impact of this effort is global, it is also local as well. The Feed My Starving Children MobilePack gives local volunteers a hands-on opportunity to better understand the global hunger crisis — and make a difference in the lives of children worldwide. It’s also a great team-building activity for organizations like ours.

To get involved in this effort, visit the Feed My Starving Children website.

Wildlands is pleased to announce that restoration is underway at the recently approved San Luis Rey Wetland Mitigation Bank in Oceanside, San Diego County, California. A groundbreaking ceremony was attended by local, state and federal agencies involved with the project including the City of Oceanside, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The San Luis Rey Wetland Mitigation Bank is a 54-acre existing agricultural field that will be restored to native floodplain wetland habitat. The bank is being established to offset unavoidable impacts to wetlands and riparian habitat in Northern San Diego County and Southwestern Riverside County. Public and private development projects with permits from the Army Corps of Engineers or California Department of Fish and Wildlife can mitigate their impacts by purchasing mitigation “credits” from the bank.

“This is a milestone project for Wildlands.” Said Steve Morgan, CEO for Wildlands. “The San Luis Rey bank represents a how a collaborative partnership between the resource agencies and Wildlands can result in an outstanding project.”

Joining agencies in the groundbreaking were members of the Wildlands team and the Wildlife Heritage Foundation who will hold a permanent conservation easement over the bank and manage a non-wasting endowment to ensure for long-term management and protection of the habitat once established.

“I think most important is that we have to realize this land is going to be put away for habitat in perpetuity. It’s going to be there for ever and ever.” Said Pat Shea, Executive Director of the Wildlife Heritage Foundation who participated in the ground breaking.

David Castanon, chief of the Los Angeles District’s Regulatory Division, said the groundbreaking is the result of a long effort. “I’ve been waiting 25 years for something like this,” Castanon said. “We’ve always known we’ve preferred some sort of a landscaped watershed approach to mitigation instead of the small postage stamp effort that we have on permitting historically. We’ve been pursuing this, advocating for it for a long time.”

“This in particular is very important because it’s part of the recovery plan for the southern steelhead and other endangered species issues,” said Therese Bradford, Chief of the South Coast Regulatory office, “but the hydrology and fixing the hydrology is really our focus.”

Wildlands plans to complete earthmoving and planting at the San Luis Rey bank by fall of 2015. Wildlands currently has several other established projects in Southern California for endangered species and wetland habitat mitigation and several others in the planning stages.

“The resource agencies in Southern California are supportive of good projects. We are excited to continue to do more,” added Morgan.

I have the very best view from my 12th floor, Downtown Portland office window. Ok, honestly, the landscape outside my window is pretty typical for an urban setting: a few buildings, a tree or two, and if I squint really hard with my glasses on I can see I tiny bit of the Willamette River.

What makes my view spectacular is that for some reason my office window is an awesome place for viewing urban wildlife – specifically, urban birds.

It all started with the usual suspects: a pigeon flyby, some gulls off in the distance, or the occasional sparrow on the windowsill. Nothing really out of the ordinary for an urban area, and certainly nothing that would earn my window the title of “awesome urban wildlife viewing” spot.

However, in the last year the birds started showing up in droves and I have had a front row seat to a couple of pretty dramatic scenes.

Act 1:

It was a dreary day, so I was only half surprised when I started to see snowflakes drifting past my office window. But these flakes were a little out of the ordinary; they were really large, too large, in fact.

“Wait, are those feathers?” I asked myself, “Is it snowing feathers?”

Immediately I got up from my desk to investigate this odd form of precipitation further, and quickly noticed that there was a red tailed hawk perched on the roof of the building across the street, sitting down to a very feathery avian lunch (maybe one of those pigeons I saw earlier?). The storm of feathers continued for some time, and when the hawk was finished I assumed that would be the last time I saw any dramatic urban wildlife action from my window, but it was just the beginning…

Act 2:

Another red-tailed hawk appeared in the late fall, this time on a ledge of the building across the street with a less feathery lunch (a rodent, perhaps?) but still eating with enough movement and gusto for me to notice it in my peripheral vision through the window.

Moments after I stood up to catch a better look, a second larger red-tailed hawk soars in and calling through the buildings landed on the roof across the street from the first lunching hawk. A stare off immediately ensued between the two hawks. Eventually, the first hawk lost interest in the staring contest and starts eating again. The second hawk, surely feeling ignored, flew away.

At this point, all seemed right in the avian world, so I decided to stop watching birds and get back to work. But then, out of nowhere, hawk number two flew in on stealth mode and sneakily stole the rodent lunch from hawk number one. Hawk number one stared off in the distance, dejected, and my co-workers began wondering about my sanity as exclamations of surprise resonated from my office.

Since those first awesome urban nature shows the hawks have come back yet again (and have proceeded to bully each other over lunch, again), but I also have seen hundreds, yes hundreds, of crows flying in for a landing right outside my window (very reminiscent of a certain Alfred Hitchcock film, or perhaps, the flying monkey scene from Wizard of Oz). Recently, I even got a super close glimpse of a pair of flying swans!

I always expect to see wildlife while I am working on one of Wildlands’ restoration projects, but I am surprised and amazed at their frequent appearance outside of my Wildlands’ urban office window. My co-workers might see a raptor fly by every now and then from their office windows, but Mother Nature really shows her stuff in front of mine.

I really do have the very best view from my 12th floor, Downtown Portland office window.

The rising temperatures signal the onset of summer and the beginning of construction season in the Pacific Northwest, which means it’s time to resume work on the Alder Creek Restoration Project on Sauvie Island in Portland, Oregon. The Alder Creek Project, approved by the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council in May 2014, is the first habitat restoration project to be implemented specifically to benefit fish and wildlife affected by contamination in Portland Harbor.

The project, which was partially constructed in 2014, will provide habitat for salmon, lamprey, mink, bald eagle, osprey, and other native fish and wildlife living in Portland Harbor. Over one hundred parties have been named as potentially responsible parties in the Portland Harbor Superfund site with obligations to restore habitat for the natural resources that were damaged.

In 2015, the City of Portland was the first potentially responsible party to invest in the Alder Creek Restoration Project. On May 29, 2015, Wildlands conducted a tour of the restoration site for Portland’s mayor, Charlie Hales. Also participating in the tour from the City of Portland were: Jackie Dingfelder, Policy Director for the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability and Office of Neighborhood Involvement; Jan Betz, Senior Deputy City Attorney; Josh Alpert, Director of Strategic Initiatives; and Zach Klonoski, Assistant to the Mayor. The participants from Wildlands included Steve Morgan, Mark Heintz, and Julie Mentzer (with photographs taken by Galib Ahmad of Wildlands).

It was a beautiful morning in Portland as we caravanned to the restoration site from the Sauvie Island Park ‘n Ride where we gathered. As we rounded the curve on NW Gillihan Road, an active osprey nest on a nest platform was visible from the car. Wildlife is abundant on Sauvie Island where the Alder Creek Restoration Site is located. When we arrived at the site, various vehicles were already at work excavating material from an upland area that would eventually become habitat for salmon and other aquatic species. As we stood on the levee which bisects the site, the group looked at a series of photos detailing the recent history of the site; the sawmill that stood on the site just one year ago; demolition and construction; and now fully functioning salmon habitat. We briefly discussed the permitting and construction process, and then proceeded to walk around the constructed habitat for a firsthand look.

As we walked, Mayor Hales asked pointed questions about the management of the site and how certain situations (e.g., trespassing) would be handled. We also discussed the native planting and seeding that would occur when the project was completed: seed mix, emergent marsh plugs, shrubs, and trees would be installed throughout the site. As we gazed out over the site towards Multnomah Channel, the benefits of the restoration were clear: High quality natural areas along this stretch of the river were rare, so this new aquatic area would benefit all species that use this stretch some time during their lifecycle.

Because it was such a beautiful, sunny day, we decided to walk out to the southernmost tip of the restoration site where the Willamette River and Multnomah Channel diverge around Sauvie Island. The restoration of this area will be completed this summer. With views of the St. Johns Bridge, Portland Harbor, Forest Park, and the community of Linnton, we stopped for a moment to envision the completed project, knowing that once construction was finished this fall, we would need a boat to get to where we now stood.

As we made plans to come back out to the site in the fall after construction was completed, we noted that we were not the only ones enjoying the day: blue herons, cliff and barn swallows, kill deer, osprey, song sparrows, Canada geese, turkey vultures, bald eagles, the resident peacocks, etc… made brief appearances as if to say, “you can visit, but this is our home so don’t stay too long.”

Buena Creek Conservation Bank, San Diego County, CA –USFWS has granted the final release of Coastal California gnatcatcher habitat conservation credits.  The bank provides compensation for the loss of coastal sage scrub habitat within the pre-approved service area or outside of the service area, as approved by the USFWS on a case-by-case basis.

Haera Wildlife Conservation Bank, Alameda County, CA – This bank is now sold out!  The final burrowing owl credit sale was completed in June, 2015.  The bank provided 299 acres of conservation credits for burrowing owl and San Joaquin kit fox habitat and will continue to be monitored and managed by Wildlands to ensure the site remains as quality habitat.

Liberty Island Conservation Bank, Yolo County, CA – Wildlands has received another credit release from USFWS, CDFW and NMFS for meeting the performance standards as outlined in the Conservation Bank Agreement.  Salmonid, Delta smelt and longfin smelt restoration credits are now available for projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with impacts to Delta native fish.

Nookachamps Wetland Mitigation Bank, Skagit County, WA – The Nookachamps bank received its latest wetland credit release in April, 2015 for achieving certain performance standards according to the bank’s Mitigation Banking Instrument.  The bank offers wetland credits as compensation for impacts to wetlands and other aquatic resources within the lower Skagit River Basin, also referred to as Water Resource Inventory Area 3.

The Alder Creek Project, approved by the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council in May 2014, is the first habitat restoration project to be implemented specifically to benefit fish and wildlife affected by contamination in Portland Harbor.

Construction on the project was recently completed, allowing the first of two breaches to connect the project to the Willamette River. The site is already providing habitat for salmon, lamprey, mink, bald eagle, osprey, and other native fish and wildlife.

The powerful photos below depict the significant transformation of the site.

Before & After Photos of the Alder Creek Restoration Project

Time Lapse Video of Breach

This time lapse video depicts the moment the breach occurred, connecting the Alder Creek Restoration Project to the Willamette River.

Mitigation & Conservation Credits Inquiries

Please contact us for more information about our Alder Creek Bank or to inquire about credits at any of our additional properties.

This employee spotlight features Julie Mentzer, Environmental Director of Operations, PNW.

Julie Mentzer grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California. Yes, she’s a Valley Girl!

At UC Irvine, Julie studied Social Ecology with a focus on Environmental Analysis and Design. Social Ecology was a combination of equal parts sociology, environmental science, and law; the ideal foundation for her eventual career.

Before she came to Wildlands, Julie worked for a few small to medium sized environmental consulting firms. She worked as a wildlife biologist focused mainly on birds and as an environmental compliance specialist for a large fiber optics project in Northern California. In the Sacramento area, She was the monitor and environmental trainer for the light rail line extension from Folsom to Meadowview, training over 3,500 people on how to comply with the environmental regulations in the permits for the project.

Julie then began working in the realm of wetland identification and delineation, wetland and endangered species permitting and compliance, and mitigation. She even called Wildlands on a regular basis looking for mitigation credits for my various projects.

“One day when I was walking in mid-town Sacramento, where I worked at the time, a former coworker of mine ran out of a restaurant and asked me if I needed a job,” said Julie. “I thought it was a bit strange, to say the least, but he convinced me to go see a few of Wildlands’ projects. Three weeks later I accepted a job with Wildlands. I just celebrated my 10-year work anniversary at Wildlands this month!”

Since Julie has been with Wildlands, she’s had the opportunity to work on a variety of restoration projects for wetlands as well as many different species (vernal pool fairy shrimp and tadpole shrimp, burrowing owl, giant garter snake, Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, and more).

But the most rewarding and complex projects she describes having worked on are those restoration projects for fish species including salmonids and Delta smelt. In 2008, Julie began working on the Wildlands’ projects in Washington and Oregon, traveling to the PNW at least once a month. In 2010, Wildlands asked her to move to Portland and open an office. It didn’t take her very long to say, “Yes!”.

In addition to working on the projects already underway in Washington, she began work on one of Wildlands’ most exciting projects: The Alder Creek Restoration Project.

The goal was to transform a sawmill situated within the floodplain of the Willamette River into a mosaic of natural habitats for the benefit of the fish and wildlife species dependent on the Willamette River.

In September of this year, the project was connected to the Willamette River through one of two planned breaches. (see time lapse video below) This was an exciting milestone, both for Wildlands and for Julie as the project manager.

Julie looks forward to talking with credit purchasers that could benefit from the available credits at the Alder Creek Restoration Project.

On the Personal Side

Julie’s hobbies include traveling (visited Croatia this year), hiking, camping, biking and enjoying bootcamp on Portland’s beautiful waterfront park.

She did the 40-mile bridge pedal this year, biking across 11 bridges in the Portland area!

We’re thrilled to have Julie on our team and hope you enjoyed learning more about her.

Toad Hill Ranch Mitigation Bank, Placer County, CA
The Toad Hill Bank received its latest wetland credit release in October, 2015 for achieving the year 3 vegetation and hydrology performance standards for the wetlands created as part of Phases I & II.

Photo credit: Dennis Cavallo

The bank offers vernal pool and seasonal wetland credits as compensation for impacts to wetlands and associated special-status species habitats within the Bank’s pre-approved service area.

River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank, Yolo County, CA
November 1st marked the start of the dormant season for elderberry shrubs, which is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recommended transplant window for transplants.

The dormant period ends in the first two weeks of February; please contact us today if you have any valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB) mitigation credit or transplant needs. Credits and shrub transplant services are available at the River Ranch VELB Conservation Bank for projects within the Bank’s service area (see map).

San Luis Rey Mitigation Bank, San Diego County, CA
Planting will be commencing soon at the 53-acre San Luis Rey Wetland Mitigation Bank in Oceanside, CA. Construction was completed earlier this summer and planting this winter will include 10,000 cuttings to be planted along with 4,000 container plants.

The site will be seeded with a mix of native shrubs, forbs, and grasses. Once complete and construction “as-builts” are approved by the regulatory agencies, Wildlands will be eligible to receive the next round of credits. A limited number of wetland and waters of the U.S./State credits are available now. Please contact us today to reserve credits from the next release.

Please contact us for more information about these Banks or to inquire about credits.

Wildlands recently participated in Pathways to Nature – an outdoor, hands-on educational outing for local 4th and 5th grade students. The goal of this activity was to connect these young students with nature and encourage them to get outside to see the powerful effects of preserving, conserving and utilizing natural resources found at a cattle ranch. Pathways to Nature was hosted by Chet and Angela Vogt on their cattle ranch – 3 Creeks Ranch, and organized by The Glenn-Colusa CattleWomen in Glenn County, California.

Many industry professionals volunteered their time and work, including Wildlands’ own biologist, Jacob Robinson. Jacob drew from his knowledge to teach the students about the fascinating life found in creeks and ponds at the cattle ranch. One of the educational activities that students participated in was getting down and dirty in the creek to identify the creatures that lived there.

We enjoy participating in these hands-on learning opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge around the importance of mindful conservation.

Photos were taken by Jill Egly.

This employee spotlight features Brian Monaghan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Brian was born and raised in Palos Verdes in sunny Southern California. At American University in Washington, D.C. (Go Eagles!), Brian graduated with a degree in Political Science. He got his first introduction to the banking industry in 1994 as an assistant project manager for a start-up wetland mitigation banking firm in the same city where he attended college. It was a lean and mean outfit, so Brian was able to learn all aspects of the business from the ground up, from permitting to land management and market analysis.

After relocating back to California, Brian found himself working for a real estate investment group and was introduced to Wildlands while the two companies were coordinating on a joint venture. He had long been an admirer of Wildlands’ owner and founder, Steve Morgan, and the work the company did, so when Steve invited Brian to join the team in 2007, he gladly accepted.

As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Brian’s primary focus is to work with project proponents to ensure a mitigation solution is in place when needed. He handles a large part of the company’s client and agency coordination, making sure all parties can come to an agreeable solution for all mitigation needs. He also heads the company’s market analysis in order to help determine demand for new bank sites and habitat/species credit types.

You can find him attending our annual conferences each year, answering any mitigation questions that may arise.

If you asked him what he considers his biggest accomplishment at Wildlands, he would tell you it is having been a part of the company’s substantial growth in the last 5 years, in which we have protected more than 20,000 additional acres of land. He added, “Recent years have been some of our most successful to date, and I am really excited about some of our upcoming projects which will continue to expand our scope throughout the west.”

Brian is seen here attending the San Luis Rey Mitigation Bank groundbreaking ceremony with City of Oceanside Planner, Richard Greenbauer. Construction on the project began in 2015, and with the moving of an astonishing 630,000 yards of dirt, this project will mark the most dirt moved in our company’s history.

On the Personal Side:

When Brian isn’t at the office, he enjoys coaching his daughter’s 12-U softball team and cramming in a round of golf whenever he can. He is also an ordained minister in the State of California and has conducted two Wildlands’ employee weddings.

Brian is also involved with Wildlands’ community volunteer projects. Here he can be seen delivering 20 turkeys for the Sacramento Food Bank’s Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive.

Give him a call today, or contact us, for any of your mitigation needs!

Dear Friends,

The year of 2016 marks our 25th Anniversary—it is truly amazing how time flies when you are having fun! Reflecting back to the beginning, Wildlands had a vision of a conservation strategy. We truly had no idea that our pioneering efforts would become such an integral part in the development of the mitigation banking industry as we know it today.

Incorporated in 1991, Wildlands embarked on an uncharted journey to develop the first entrepreneurial wetlands mitigation bank in the West. Little did we know we would also have to create the framework for the concept because it had never been done before. Three years later, with a lot of cooperation from the regulatory and resource agencies, coupled with tremendous support from local government, we opened the Sheridan Mitigation Bank in Placer County, California. A 300 acre wetland complex comprised of vernal pools, seasonal wetlands, and riparian wetlands set the stage for testing our conservation/business model. And boy, did it! Struggling at first, we weathered the storm and managed to pioneer many “first of its kind” in the industry.

Not only did Wildlands have the first wetlands mitigation bank west of the Mississippi, we developed the first vernal pool conservation bank, the first fisheries mitigation bank, the first elderberry mitigation bank, the first giant garter snake mitigation bank, and the first NRDA mitigation bank, along with multiple other species banks. Today we can proudly take credit for preserving nearly 50,000 acres of land across the west through the development and sale of mitigation and conservation credits.

Naturally, as it is with most businesses, nothing has come easy. Fortunately, Wildlands has been blessed with a very talented, loyal and highly trained staff that forged their way through all the challenges we faced to build the company as we know it today. Without them, our vision 25 years ago would not have been possible, nor would it be without the support of the regulatory community and our great customer base. I thank you all for your tremendous support!

As we move forward, we remain committed to our mission, “To create a legacy of thriving and protected natural habitat through ecological and economic cooperation.”

The first 25 years have been amazing for all of us at Wildlands. Thanks to all of you who have participated along the way—we are truly grateful!

Sincerely,

Steve Morgan
CEO, President

Twin Cities Wetland Preserve
Sacramento County, California
Wildlands’ 255-acre Twin Cities Wetland Preserve was established in 2007 and contains 15 acres of restored vernal pool, riparian scrub, and seasonal wetlands and 12 acres of preserved vernal pool wetlands. Located in the Southeastern Sacramento Valley Vernal Pool Region, the site also provides over 200 acres of Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat. Wildlands recently sold the Preserve’s last remaining vernal pool preservation acreage to solve a client’s mitigation obligation associated with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinion. As documented in its most recent annual report, the Preserve is in excellent condition and all biological monitoring performance standards have been met.

Though all habitat mitigation values are sold out at the Twin Cities Wetland Preserve, Wildlands continues to manage the Twin Cities Wetland Preserve and other mitigation sites in the region – please contact us for your mitigation needs.

San Luis Rey Mitigation Bank
Oceanside, San Diego County, California
With the planting now complete, Wildlands has submitted the planting as-built drawings for review and approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Approval of the as-built drawings will allow for an additional release of wetland credits equivalent to 25% of the total credits authorized at the Bank. With the initial credit release received in early 2015 nearly sold out, Wildlands is excited to make the next round of credits available for sale in early spring, 2016.

Please contact us today if you anticipate any waters of the U.S. and/or waters of the State impacts and would like to discuss a credit reservation from the upcoming release.

Toad Hill Ranch Mitigation Bank
Placer County, California
Wildlands continues to sell out seasonal wetland creation habitat credits at the Toad Hill Ranch Mitigation Bank as credits are released. The Bank is a 1,600-acre vernal pool and seasonal wetland mitigation bank approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Bank was constructed in four phases, and created a total of 43 acres of vernal pools and 55 acres of seasonal wetlands, in addition to 10 acres of preserved vernal pools and 1,490 acres of Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat. Wildlands will be conducting an agency site visit this spring to review site conditions in order to request the next credit release associated with the successful performance of the Year 4 standards of Phases I & II.

Contact us for any vernal pool or seasonal wetland mitigation needs in the region.

We concluded our final year (Year 5) of monitoring on the Rogue Valley Conservation and Mitigation Bank and are planning to request another credit release this summer. The Bank site is looking great and we continue to meet the pre-determined performance standards for vernal pool vegetation, hydrology, vernal pool fairy shrimp, and large-flowered woolly meadow foam.

Over the years, native plant species richness within the vernal pools increased 25% (from 20 species to 25 species). Managed grazing has remained an important tool on the Bank. Grazing is used to remove the previous year’s dry grass (i.e. thatch) which allows the native species to thrive and the vernal pools to retain their original size.

In 5 years, the total number of large-flowered woolly meadowfoam individuals (a federally endangered plant) almost tripled from 2,280 in 2012 to 6,613 in 2016.

The Bank offers general wetland credits, vernal pool fairy shrimp credits, or combination (both wetland and fairy shrimp) credits in the pre-approved service area which includes Jackson County and portions of Douglas, Klamath, and Josephine counties.

To get the most recent update on credit releases check out our blog, Mitigation and Conservation Banks Update.