Conservation and Mitigation Banking for Southern California

Follow the money.

California Conservation and Mitigation Banking is a way for companies and entities to develop land that displaces natural resources by paying for conservation services and protection for a different piece of land.

Conservation Banking

A conservation bank generally protects threatened and endangered species habitat. Credits are established for the specific sensitive species that occur on the site. Conservation banks must be approved by the wildlife agencies, such as the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mitigation Banking

Mitigation banking is the same concept as conservation banking, but is specifically for wetland restoration, creation, and enhancement undertaken to compensate for unavoidable wetland losses. Mitigation banking helps to consolidate small, fragmented wetland mitigation projects into large contiguous sites which will have much higher wildlife habitat values. Mitigation banks are generally approved by the wildlife agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A list of South Coast Conservation and Mitigation banks approved by the Department of Fish and Game in California are listed on their website. Only one location is listed for Orange County, and none for Los Angeles County. San Diego has the lions share of the banks with 10 locations listed. A note mentions that additional banks that have been independently approved are not included in the list.

South Coast Region 5
CONTACT FOR CONSERVATION AND MITIGATION BANKING

The DFG staff identified below can provide information and guidance on conservation banks for the following counties:
Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura

Mike Mulligan
4949 Viewridge Ave.
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 467-4212

And
California Department of Fish and Game
Habitat Conservation Planning Branch
1416 Ninth St., Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 653-4875