As the United States prioritizes efforts to rehabilitate, enhance and modernize its energy and transportation infrastructure, state and federal regulators play a critical role in making permitting decisions that align with their own priorities to protect important natural resources. Compensatory mitigation may be required because of unavoidable impacts to natural resources and these negotiations can become contentious because it involves additional cost to the permit applicant and could potentially extend project schedules. Ideally, agencies can provide predictable mitigation solutions that are efficient and provide successful outcomes for natural resources; however, sometimes unique projects require unique solutions.

 

The Conservation Fund provides comprehensive mitigation solutions that support our partners’ approved conservation strategies to offset project-related impacts to natural resources, including turnkey transaction services and management of permittee-responsible mitigation funds for conservation outcomes.

 

We are an independent non-profit that does not have a membership that can create conflicts of interest for our work on infrastructure mitigation projects. We can implement mitigation via a single real estate transaction or manage and disburse funds for multiple acquisitions, habitat restorations, or critical research needs.

 

CONTACT THE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS TEAM

 

Our teamwork has achieved numerous conservation benefits across the United States, including the protection and restoration of habitats for a variety of species:

 

• Mammals: Indiana, northern long-eared, little brown, tricolor, and gray bat species, ocelot, jaguarundi, grizzly bear
• Birds: general migratory birds and specific mitigation for bald and golden eagles, golden-cheeked warbler, red-cockaded woodpecker, red knot, whooping crane, piping plover
• Fish: Atlantic salmon, candy darter
• Invertebrates: American burying beetle, rusty patched bumblebee, Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, Michigan Karner blue butterfly, freshwater mussels
• Reptiles: Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake, desert tortoise, gopher tortoise, indigo snake, Louisiana pine snake
• Amphibians: Illinois chorus frog

 

Credit: Seth Patterson

WE HAVE ALSO PROVIDED MITIGATION FOR UNIQUE REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS:

• Land exchanges for replacement of impacted public lands
• Conservation of land for impacts to viewshed
• Compensatory mitigation for impacts to cultural and historic sites
• Creating outdoor recreation spaces for local communities

 

WHY THE CONSERVATION FUND FOR MITIGATION SOLUTIONS?

• We deliver cost-effective and timely solutions focusing on the land and water conservation priorities of federal, state and local partners
• We are an Accredited Land Trust, and our work is conducted in accordance with Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices
• We are top-ranked 4-star rated by the independent Charity Navigator which recognizes our financial health, accountability and transparency
• We have deep expertise in real estate transactions and financing, with experts working throughout the United States
• Our long-standing relationships with the conservation community and agencies responsible for habitat and species management mean we are best positioned to deploy compensatory mitigation projects where they will have the most added value to broad conservation objectives

 

Credit: Ian Shive

OUR TEAM CAN PROVIDE EXPERTISE AND PROVEN SOLUTIONS TO THE FULL SPECTRUM OF MITIGATION SERVICES ONCE A PROJECT HAS BEEN GRANTED LEGAL AND REGULATORY APPROVAL:

 

Planning

• Conduct full mitigation program management using science-based decision tools and mapping
• Establish and reinforce relationships with mitigation project partners
• Provide strategic project guidance, on-the-ground knowledge, and effective collaboration on mitigation requirements and implementation

 

Implementation & Fund Administration

• Implement mitigation packages for regulatory compliance or voluntary stewardship
• Create mitigation accounts and manage disbursement of funds based on regulatory and conservation agency priorities

 

Acquisition

• Manage property and landowner identification and relations, including due diligence, negotiation, and acquisition
• Ensure that all aspects of property acquisition and protection meet mitigation criteria
• Provide interim property management, as well as identification and facilitation of transfer of properties to long-term stewards
• Evaluate project readiness and the capacity and sustainability of conservation partners to manage and permanently protect land

 

Restoration

• Design project-specific restoration programs to enable properties to meet ecological performance standards
• Identify and engage restoration contractors to implement restoration programs