Expanding Opportunities for Successful Wetland Mitigation: The Private Credit Market Alternative,

This report explains the concept and functioning of private markets in wetland mitigation credits describes the potential to help the Federal wetland regulatory program achieve the national goal of no-net-loss in wetland function and acreage and explains the regulatory conditions necessary for the widespread emergence and ecological success of this mitigation alternative. This report was prepared as a part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources National Wetland Mitigation Banking Study. The vast majority of mitigation banks today are single-user banks--largely developed to provide the sponsors compensatory mitigation needs. By contrast, private mitigation credit markets would encourage entrepreneurs to establish commercial mitigation banks from which credits would be sold to wetland developers in need of compensatory mitigation. Such markets could help the nation achieve no-net-loss of wetlands by increasing the opportunity to obtain successful compensatory mitigation for permitted wetland losses.