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Concept Definitions

Concept Definition:
Mitigation

Mitigation is the exchange of restored and preserved like habitat for the unavoidable environmental impacts of necessary development actions on the Nation's wetlands; endangered and threatened species habitat; and other aquatic and wildlife resources habitat.

The types of habitat to be mitigated for is regulated by different State and Federal agencies (eg. The US Corps of Engineers for wetlands, the US Fish and Wildlife Service for endangered species, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for reservoirs.)

One of the tools used for implementing the result of the mitigation process is mitigation banking.

Mitigation Banking

Mitigation banking has been defined as wetland restoration, creation, enhancement, and in exceptional circumstances, preservation undertaken expressly for the purpose of compensating for unavoidable wetland losses in advance of development actions, when such compensation cannot be achieved at the development site or would not be as environmentally beneficial. It typically involves the consolidation of small, fragmented wetland mitigation projects into one large contiguous site. Units of restored, created, enhanced or preserved wetlands are expressed as "credits" which may subsequently be withdrawn to offset "debits" incurred at a project development site.

The objective of a mitigation bank is to provide for the replacement of the chemical, physical, and biological functions of wetlands and other aquatic resources which are lost as a result of authorized impacts.

Impacts to wetlands for which there is no practicable alternative may require mitigation. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has defined mitigation to include: avoiding impacts, minimizing impacts, rectifying impacts, reducing impacts over time, and compensating for impacts. The Clean Water Act Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines establish environmental criteria which must be met for activities to be permitted under section 404. The types of mitigation enumerated by CEQ are compatible with the requirements of the Guidelines, and, as a practical matter, can be combined to form three general types: avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation.

Avoiding or minimizing wetland impacts is, at times, impossible to accomplish on-site or can be accomplished only at extraordinary cost. In addition, there continue to be significant reservations regarding the potential success of wetland creation or rehabilitation of critically degraded wetlands, especially if the biotic composition of the natural community is complex and the functional relationships of that community are poorly understood. Therefore, offsite restoration and long-term management of a degraded, but not critically degraded, mitigation site appears to be an acceptable choice to compensate for wetland losses. However, a mitigation bank may be used only after potential impacts have been avoided to the maximum extent practicable, unavoidable impacts have been minimized to the extent appropriate and practicable, and all feasible on-site mitigation has been implemented.

When properly developed and used, a mitigation bank will:

• Allow for mitigation and unavoidable impacts to wetlands.

• Create the opportunity to develop a comprehensive mitigation plan, rather than piecemeal mitigation, for several projects with minor individual but important cumulative impacts.

• Create the opportunity to develop one large, more easily managed mitigation site, rather than numerous small sites.

• Improve agency coordination by positioning agencies in a planning rather than a reactive mode.

• Expedite permit review once compliance with regulations has been established and avoidance and minimization have been addressed.

• provide effective compensation for development activities by enhancing a functionally intact mitigation site through comprehensive ecosystem management which would not be possible in the development area.

A conservation easement is a restriction landowners voluntarily place on specified uses of their property to protect natural, productive or cultural features. It is recorded as a written legal agreement between the landowner and the "holder" of the easement, which may be either a nonprofit conservation organization or government agency.

With a conservation easement the landowner retains legal title to the property and determines the types of land uses to continue and those to restrict. As part of the arrangement, the landowner grants the holder of the conservation easement the right to periodically assess the condition of the property to ensure that it is maintained according to the terms of the legal agreement. A conservation easement is tied to the land and binds all present and future owners to its terms and restrictions.

Many rights come with owning property, including the rights to manage resources, change use, subdivide or develop. With a conservation easement, a landowner permanently limits one or more of these rights. For example, a landowner donating a conservation easement could choose to limit the rights to develop a property, but keep the rights to build a house, raise cattle and grow crops. The landowner may continue his or her current use of the property, provided the resources the conservation easement is intended to protect are sustained.

Concept Definition:
TPWD Wildlife Management

The Migratory Wildlife Branch, TPWD, is investigating the possibility of a cash lease program with private landowners to grow feed for white-winged doves for the periods March-May, June-August, September-October. Higher bids may be accepted for the leased lands if the public is allowed access for hunting purposes for the period Sept.-Oct. as part of TPWD's current dove hunting lease program.

The lease contracts would be awarded based upon sealed lowest bid with some maximum set based upon market rates for the area. Higher priority and preference would be given to multi-year bids. Grain, seed, or nut crops desired would include maximillian, black-oil, or native sunflowers, safflower, millet, milo or grain sorghum, hegari, sesame, partridge pea, lespedeza, corn, wheat, barley, oats, annual wild rye, rice, and peanuts. Minimum field sizes which would be accepted is 5 acres and the lease should include costs to mechanical shred 15% of the acreage at one week intervals over the 2 month period.

In 1989, the following goals were adopted by the Wildlife Division and are used as guidelines for preparing WMA management plans. The goals are listed in priority order.

1. To develop and manage wildlife habitats and populations of indigenous wildlife species.

2. To provide a site where research of wildlife populations and habitat can be conducted under controlled conditions.

3. To provide areas to demonstrate habitat development and wildlife management practices to landowners and other interested groups.

4. To provide natural environments for use by educational groups, naturalists, and other professional biological investigators.

5. To protect populations of endangered, threatened, or migratory wildlife, protected plant species, related habitats, unique natural sites, and relic vegetational communities.

6. To provide public hunting and appreciative use of wildlife in a manner compatible with the resource.