Micheal Clements, NAFB News Service

The Department of Agriculture will award $5 million for eight new wetland mitigation banking projects through the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program. The program helps conservation partners develop or establish mitigation banks to help agricultural producers maintain eligibility for USDA programs. USDA says the wetlands will provide producers “an affordable mitigation option to remain in compliance for USDA farm bill programs while establishing banks that support wetland functions.” Wetland mitigation banks create credits through the restoration, creation, or enhancement of wetlands to compensate for impacts on wetlands at other locations. Most wetland mitigation banks, however, serve the development community and are not affordable to agricultural producers. Producers seeking benefits through most USDA programs must comply with wetland conservation provisions by affirming they will not impact wetlands on their lands. In situations where avoidance or on-site mitigation is challenging, the farm bill allows producers to mitigate their conversion activities off-site by purchasing mitigation banking credits.