28 Apr 2025

Wisconsin Environmental Restorations Mitigation Proposal

Expiration date: 5/28/2025

This project involves the modification of an existing, approved wetland mitigation bank site. Mitigation banks are approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the purpose of providing compensatory mitigation credits which sponsors sell to permittees seeking Department of the Army authorization for impacts to aquatic resources. The Corps originally approved the Bluff Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank on October 9, 2020. The Sponsor completed site construction and seeding in 2020 and received their initial credit release for construction in January 2021. In 2022 the Sponsor and Interagency Review Team (IRT) identified issues with the site performance, specifically the failure of an outlet structure and deficient of wetland hydrology or vegetation. As a condition of the continued sale of previously released credits and future release of additional credits, the Corps required the Sponsor to develop a corrective action plan to address these issues and bring the site into compliance with the objectives of their mitigation plan.

17 Apr 2025

WETLAND AND STREAM COMPENSATORY MITIGATION BANK PROPOSAL

Expiration date: 5/17/2025

This proposal was previously advertised on public notice on January 25, 2023, and the sponsor has made several revisions to the original proposal. The revisions include the addition of four parcels (Parcels A-D in Figure 1) and modification of the stream restoration design (Figure 6). The objective of the project is to re-establish a functioning stream/wetland complex that complements the adjacent DNR owned fisheries conservation easement on the Little La Crosse River, increase functions of the existing wetlands on site, and provide water quality improvement for the contributing drainages. The successful achievement of the objectives would result in the re-establishment of 15.87 acres of shrub-carr and 0.40 acre of wooded swamp; the re-habilitation of 8.15 acres of shrub-carr and 28.23 acres of wooded swamp, the establishment of 20.16 acres of buffer; and the restoration of 1,456 linear feet of stream. The site, if approved, would have approximately 47.08 compensatory wetland mitigation credits and 389 functional feet of compensatory stream mitigation credits that applicants for Department of the Army permits could purchase to offset unavoidable losses of wetlands and/or streams. More refined credits amounts will be determined if the sponsor moves on to the DMBI stage.

15 Apr 2025

Mill Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank

Expiration date: 5/15/2025

The proposed bank is located within an ecological landscape that has been degraded predominately by drainage and conversion to agricultural land use. Based on historic aerial imagery, the site has been cleared of most trees, was ditched, and cropped for agricultural land use before 1941. Farming ceased by 1990 in the southwest and northeast corners of the site and hardwood swamp wetland communities began to establish. Some of the fields were used for sod farming. The site was utilized as a tree plantation prior to 2005 with large portions of the site planted with stands of various coniferous and deciduous trees. After 2017, active maintenance of the fields and tree plantation rows ceased, and vegetation was left to grow naturally. The objectives of the project are to restore wetland hydrology to areas that were historically drained by ditches and tiles for agricultural purposes and to establish native plant communities that are appropriate for the postrestoration hydrologic conditions. The project proposes to restore wetland communities by reestablishing 34.87 acres of fresh wet meadow, rehabilitating 5.14 acres of fresh wet meadow, enhancing 24.29 acres of existing fresh wet meadow and hardwood swamp, and restoring 3.68 acres of upland buffer to mesic prairie.

9 Apr 2025

City of Lino Lakes Mitigation Bank Proposal

Expiration date: 5/9/2025

The sponsor states that the proposed project is located in a region of the state that contains less than 50% of pre-statehood wetlands. The site is located within the Mississippi (metro) Watershed (20), which is within the Twin Cities metro area and is located in a high impact area that would benefit from enhanced water quality controls and biological diversity within a highly fragmented system. The sponsor expects that restoration and enhancement of this site will provide exceptional wetland mitigation options for development that is occurring within the City of Lino Lakes and aligns with the goals of the Rice Creek Watershed District Watershed Management Plan, where banked wetland credits are vital to District Projects. The sponsor expects restoration of the site in this location will significantly increase habitat diversity, provide refuge for wildlife amongst a developing city, and improve water quality and overall watershed conditions within the Clear Creek minor watershed.

7 Apr 2025

WETLAND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION BANK PROPOSAL

Expiration date: 5/7/2025

As stated by the sponsor in the prospectus, urban development, infrastructure and agricultural land use all contribute to the demand for compensatory wetland mitigation bank credits. The proposed Minnesota Meadow Restoration Preserve Wetland Bank is located within a broader landscape that contains a large amount of residential and commercial development. This project is needed to maintain natural resources and their functional values amidst cultivation and urban expansion and would do so by providing wetland credits. According to the sponsor, as of March2025there were80state and federally approved wetland credits available within BSA 7 where the recent average yearly demand for credits has been approximately 140 credits. The objective of the project is to restore self-sustaining and high-functioning fresh wet meadow wetlands with mesic prairie upland buffers to generate state and federal approved wetland mitigation bank credits. These objectives would be achieved by discontinuing agricultural (sod production) use; plugging and/or filling open ditches; and seeding and establishing native, noninvasive vegetation.

24 May 2023

UPDATE OF THE JOINT 2013 GUIDELINES FOR WETLAND COMPENSATORY MITIGATION IN WISCONSIN

SPECIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District (Corps) recently began an update of the joint 2013 Guidelines for Wetland Compensatory Mitigation in Wisconsin. We have developed draft outlines for the next version and are seeking public input on the outlines as well as additional information we should consider addressing in the next version. To facilitate meaningful comment, we are also seeking individuals who are currently active in the development or use of compensatory mitigation in Wisconsin who are interested in participating in a listening session. We will host the session July 6, 2023, and determine exact time and location based on interest. We are currently considering making this a virtual session. The session will aim to gather feedback from the mitigation community on crucial mitigation issues that need our clarification, with a specific focus on topics to include in the outlines and information needs or gaps that existed in the 2013 version of the Guidelines. If you are interested in the session, please register in advance by sending your name, organization, contact information, and whether you are primarily a mitigation provider or mitigation purchaser to Leslie Day (leslie.e.day@usace.army.mil) on or before June 23, 2023.

18 Apr 2023

ANNOUNCEMENT OF RELEASE OF STREAM MITIGATION PROCEDURES

SPECIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District Regulatory Division (Corps) is announcing the release of its Stream Mitigation Procedures, Version 1.0 (Stream Procedures), applicable in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Corps will host an online outreach event on May 10, 2023, to review contents of the Stream Procedures and provide an opportunity for the public to ask questions about implementation of this document. The target audience is stakeholders, consultants, potential stream bankers, and other agencies. If you are interested in participating in this outreach event, please reach out to stpaulsqt@usace.army.mil to receive a calendar invitation. Please let us know if you are interested in attending, but unable to make the May session. We will hold additional outreach events later in the summer if there is demand.

17 Dec 2021

Credit Release Schedule Flexibility for Mitigation Bank and In-Lieu Fee Sites

SPECIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District (Corps) is sharing information to describe the flexibility related to credit releases associated with meeting hydrology performance standards at mitigation bank and in-lieu fee (ILF) sites.