The Bank is a key instrument in achieving two major goals:
- Provide mitigation credits to private and public entities for development impacts located within the Bank's service area.
- Develop and implement restoration and enhancement plans for local wetland communities.
The result is a wetland system that provides significant benefits to the community, including:
- Enhanced air and water quality through natural filtration and treatment.
- Flood control through increased water storage and floodplain capacity.
- A diverse array of native plants, animals, and habitats interconnected by a system of wetland and riparian areas.
- Public access to large open spaces near the urban center.
- Educational, recreational, and research opportunities in and along the wetlands and stream corridors.
The Bank is a result of the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, which was locally adopted in 1992 and was Oregon's first wetland conservation plan. It is a multiple objective plan that provides a vision for wetlands protection and community development. It identifies about 1,300 acres of wetlands, recommends about 1,000 acres for protection or restoration, and delineates approximately 300 acres of lower value wetlands suitable for future fill and development. The Plan establishes standards for preservation, restoration, and fill of wetlands, and describes the processes required for Plan implementation. State and federal laws require compensatory mitigation for the loss of all wetlands, regardless of value. Plan policies call for creation of a mitigation bank to help fund restoration and enhancement in conjunction with a program to protect valuable wetlands. The performance standards and procedural requirements for operating the Bank are described in the Mitigation Bank Instrument and Memorandum of Agreement, developed in accordance with state and federal wetland mitigation bank requirements. Bank sites are located within a connected system of existing wetlands that are managed by the Rivers to Ridges Partnership.
Annual Reports
The Bank produces an annual report which details the performance of each of the mitigation sites. The report contains monitoring information about vegetation, hydrology, soils, and wildlife. A summary of the Bank's financial transactions is also found in the annual report. The report is usually published on the website in May of each year. [See reports at left]
