Bandera Corridor Conservation Bank: a conservation story 2016 Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo Symposium January 28, 2016
What is a Conservation Bank? A site or suite of sites containing natural resource values that are conserved and managed in perpetuity for specified endangered, threatened, or other at-risk species, used to offset impacts occurring elsewhere to the same type of resource (e.g., in-kind compensatory offsets). The size of the site is sufficient enough that a bank typically consolidates the mitigation needs of two or more permit authorizations. Creation of a conservation bank requires collaboration of the public, private, and non-profit sectors to be done well.
Types of Conservation Banks Depending upon the species being conserved, conservation banks typically fall into one of three categories: Preservation Restoration/Enhancement Creation
Typical Components of a Conservation Bank Willing landowner Proper site selection Presence of the species being conserved Adequate habitat or number of individuals Long-term adaptive management & monitoring plan Long-term financial assurances Creation of a bank agreement with USFWS Subordination or limiting of other property interests Third-party conservation easement in perpetuity
Who and What Governs Creation of a Conservation Bank? Conservation Banks are created in response to Section 2 of the 1973 Endangered Species Act to offset and compensate for actions permitted under Section 7 and Section 10 US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service provide regulatory oversight under ESA Species recovery plans 1996 Habitat Conservation Planning and Incidental Take Permit Processing Handbook 2003 Guidance for the Establishment, Use, and Operation of Conservation Banks Regional and local species-specific guidance documents Applicable state & local laws
What Governs Operation of a Conservation Bank? The executed Conservation Bank Agreement between the banker and the Service. Establishment criteria Management & monitoring plan Terms & conditions of conservation easement Financial commitments & assurances Service Area
Number of Conservation Banks 154 Conservation Banks >100,000 acres >60 species
What can banks offer? Comparison of Potentially Conserved Acreage to Federal Cost for GCWA & BCVI species 2002-2012 Approximate acrage of all projects by type combined 36,000 ac 5 Banks 15,000 ac 10 Projects $3.6M Texas Land Conservation Conference March 5, 2015 $0 7,500 ac 27 Projects $42M Bank PSGP Section 6 Compiled from: 1) Private Stewardship Grants Program Award Summaries FY2003-FY2007 and 2) Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (Section 6) Award Summaries FY2002- FY2012 Does not include Ft. Hood Recovery Credit System program or Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. Information was not available regarding status or realization of individual grant awards compiled.
Once upon a time in 2009
Mitigation Need on the Horizon
Tools Available for Desktop Analysis Model L Model C
Overview of Conservation Opportunities
Initializing Event
Identifying a Focal Area
Parcel Fragmentation Model L Model C
Western Bandera Canyonlands TPWD TNC TLC Cibolo TLC
Service Area Model L Model C
Encouraging ESA Compliance More QUANTITY Very Little Species Listing Date TIME Banked mitigation lands positioned ahead of impact need FUTURE? Projects seeking compliance with ESA REALITY: Trend of ESA voluntary compliance & offsets w/o enforcement Many Years Texas Land Conservation Conference March 5, 2015
Encouraging ESA Compliance
Encouraging ESA Compliance
Jesse McLean General Manager Bandera Conservation Corridor, LLC jmclean@banderacorridor.com (512) 751-9100