Transcript Slide 1

Northeast Minnesota Wetland
Mitigation
Inventory & Assessment
Dale Krystosek & Aaron Spence
Minnesota Wetlands Conference
January 18, 2012
Background
 Local Government unit concerns over
changing regulations in 2005 spurred
discussions.
 BWSR convened meetings in 2005 with
federal, state, and local government and
private interests.
 Projected impacts in region – 600
acres/year
 Few traditional wetland mitigation
opportunities in NE Minnesota
NE Minn. Sector Mitigation Needs
SECTOR:
Identified
Demand (ac/yr)
Residential/Commercial
100
BWSR Public Road Program
85
MNDOT Roads
50
Mining
300
Total Demand
500 to 600 ac.
•2007: Only 65 acres of
Wetland bank credit
available in NE
•Annual Demand
~500 acres
•Annual Deficit
~435 acres
NE MN Wetland Mgmt. Strategy
 Completed in
December 2006.
 Project led by BWSR
with many partner
organizations.
 6 Recommendations
 Conduct Inventory of
wetland mitigation
opportunities in
NE/NC
2007 Legislative Appropriation
$375,000 appropriation to:
1) Inventory and compile known and
potential wetland mitigation
opportunities within NE MN.
2) Conduct a region-wide mitigation siting
analysis based on the mitigation
inventory.
Study Area:
18
Counties with
>80% pre-settlement
wetlands
 Strategy also
emphasized
watershed
management
approach
Project Purpose
1) Collect and analyze data on the wetland
mitigation potential in northeast
Minnesota.
2) Objectively evaluate this data to
determine the ability of the region to
accommodate wetland mitigation
needs.
3) Develop wetland regulatory
recommendations.
Project Development
 Barr Engineering and Community GIS awarded
contract in March 2008.
 Project divided into two phases:
Phase I: Wetland Mitigation Inventory.
Phase II: Wetland Mitigation Siting Analysis.
 Project Completed in February 2010
Phase I Inventory Results
 17 of 18 Counties field evaluated
 13% of sites high credit potential
 11-61% of evaluated sites expressed
landowner interest or uncertainty
 50% of potential on farmed wetlands
(limited credit potential)
 98% of total acres qualify for only partial
credit (12.5% to 75%)
Phase I: Potential Wetland Credits
Potential Credits
Mitigation Method
(Acres)
Restoration
?
Preservation/ENRV
?
Enhancement
?
Creation
?
TOTAL
?
Phase II Goals & Objectives
 Evaluate Phase I inventory results
 Farmed wetlands
 Partially drained wetlands
 Develop a GIS tool
 facilitate regulatory process & improve resource planning
 Evaluate Sector mitigation planning
implications
 Evaluate the need for wetland banking
 Evaluate the practical challenges with wetland
mitigation planning
 Identify research needs
Phase II Prioritization Factors
 Wetland Mitigation Method
 Land Ownership
 Water Quality/Impaired Waters
 Technical Feasibility
 Watershed/County Location
 Site Size
Potential Credits Based on GIS Analysis
Farmed wetlands =
68,000 acres
Drained Wetlands
= 18,000 acres
Partially drained
wetlands = 28,000 ac.
(60% on public land)
Credits by Mitigation Method
High Potential Areas (44,950 ac)
Field verification results applied – 13% High Potential
750
2,650
Restoration of
Drained
Restoration Drained
Wetlands =
Wetlands
2,400 acres
2,400
2,350
9,000
95% of
Opportunities
are EXISTING
27,900
WETLANDS
Restoration Farmed
Wetlands
Restoration of
Farmed
Wetlands =
9,000 acres
Restoration
Partially Drained
Preservation
Enhancement
Creation
Restoration of
PARTIALLY DRAINED
Wetlands = 27,900
acres
Credits by Method, High Potential &
Landowner Interest
Mitigation
Method
Restoration
Technically
Feasible
Credits
39,200
Credits with
Interested
Landowners
4,300-23,900
Preservation
2,350
250-1,450
Enhancement
750
100-450
Creation
2,650
300-1,600
Total
44,950
4,950-27,400
NE MINNES0TA WETLAND MITIGATION:
PROJECT LAND AREA =
21,910,000 acres
CURRENT WETLANDS =
7,239,000 acres
FINAL FILTERS:
• Technical
Evaluation Panel
• Federal Agencies
• Local Government
Unit decision
NE INVENTORY: TECHNICALLY
FEASABLE MITIGATION
CREDITS = 44,950 acres
LIKELY CREDITS
(factoring in landowner interest)
= 4,950
– 27,400 acres
(1/10th of 1% of land area)
Project Recommendations:
1. Develop Northeast Minnesota Interagency
Wetland Mitigation Committee
2. Develop Northeast Regional Mitigation
Cooperative
3. Promote watershed based wetland planning
4. Develop Northeast Wetland Mitigation
Registry
5. Develop BWSR programs to assist wetland
mitigation in northeast Minnesota
1. Develop Northeast Minnesota Interagency
Wetland Mitigation Committee
A. Establish guidelines for consistent siting
requirements
B. Develop wetland mitigation priorities
C. Develop guidance documents (partially
drained, technical feasibility, etc)
D. Evaluate mitigation opportunities on public
land
E. Evaluate opportunities related to impaired
waters
2. Develop Northeast Minnesota Regional
Wetland Mitigation Cooperative
A. Identify potential sponsors for cooperative
B. Seek start up funding (preliminary estimate of
$750,000)
C. Develop mitigation based on priorities:
•Watershed needs based on historic losses
•Wetland impact types
•Water quality protection and improvement
needs
D. Utilize NE interagency team to guide projects
funded under the cooperative
Next Steps
• Applied
for and received funding from
Environment and Natural Resources
Trust Fund for:
• Northeast Minnesota White Cedar
Plant Community Restoration Project
•Project will develop 4 northern white
cedar plant community restoration
demonstration projects
•Provide training on white cedar
management and restoration for land
managers
Current Status
 Website is currently being upgraded to newest version
of ArcGIS Server software
 Users visiting the web page will currently receive an
“Under Construction” message
 Check back in March for updated website
MAPS.BWSR.STATE.MN.US
Add Field Checked Data Here Contact BWSR for login info
Current Status
 Website is currently being upgraded to newest version
of ArcGIS Server software
 Users visiting the web page will currently receive an
“Under Construction” message
 Check back in March for updated website
Contacts
 Please contact Aaron Spence to:
 Acquire a shapefile of all potential wetland mitigation
sites
 Get username and password to enter field checked data
for a potential mitigation site
 Other questions about the web map interface or GIS
data
 [email protected]
 651-296-0660