News

Worthy of protection: Mitigation bank open for business

By HEATHER HACKING - ChicoER Staff Writer

Blue herons roost in a rookery on part of the Dove Ridge Dove Ridge Preservation Bank in April. Future high-tech plans for the future include placing cameras near the rookery and into vernal pool puddles. (Bill Husa/Enterprise-Record)

Angi Orlandella placed jars of vernal pool shrimp on a conference table Wednesday at the "information hub" for Loafer Creek, a limited liability company.

"It's a shame they have to kill them to identify them," she said of the two species identified as federally endangered. The samples were sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the documentation phase of the Dove Ridge Preservation Bank, 2,400 acres that is now open for business.

Orlandella pointed out specific features of the vernal tadpole shrimp and vernal pool fairy shrimp.

Next to the bottles, she had a sample of federally listed Butte County meadowfoam, pressed flat on a piece of cardboard.

Orlandella said Wayne White, field supervisor of the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife office, called personally last Monday to tell them they were now officially a mitigation bank to protect the two rare shrimp and the plant.

This follows a two-year process of documenting the habitat, correspondence back and forth with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and generally jumping through the scientific hoops to prove that the land has an abundance of areas that are worthy of protection.

The property is the largest federal mitigation bank in California. It is located southeast of where Highway 149 cuts off from Highway 99, south of Chico.

A creek runs through the property year-round and the land is criss-crossed with swales where the water fans out in wet months.

Other "species of concern" on the land include Butte County golden clover, Red Bluff dwarf rush, Sanford arrowhead, square-stemmed spiked rush, northwestern pond turtle and tri-colored blackbird.

The plan with Fish and Wildlife is to offer mitigation credits to developers. When new construction destroys land with one or more of the three protected species, developers can pay money to protect a portion of the land at Dove Ridge.

An endowment of about $1 million to $1.4 million will be established and income of $70,000-$80,000 a year will be used to manage the land forever. The plan is to set up a 501(3)(c) nonprofit group to run the property.

U.S Fish and Wildlife identified 233 acres of vernal pools, and because the area is in prime condition for habitat, Loafer Creek will be able to sell 466 acres for mitigation.

Developers like mitigation banks because they can pay money rather than having long-term management of land that is set aside. Wildlife agencies like them as well because small, scattered areas of land do not serve wildlife as well as a large block of land.

Loafer Creek has 30 investors. The primary managers are David Nelson, general counsel and managing member; Orlandella, technology and land coordinator; Dan Kohrdt, land designer; Jack LaPant, who owns rice and almonds nearby and manages grazing and land management for the property; and Richie Atto, finance manager.

Kohrdt said they've spent about $10 million on the project and he hopes to at least double his money after all of the credits are sold.

The credits will apply to development in Butte County and the eastern half of Tehama County.

Kohrdt said he expects the mitigation credits to go fast because there are already enough development projects in the works to match the mitigation credits available.

He said they'll go at a first-come, first-served basis.

They're still looking into ways to use the parts of the 2,400 acres for other wetland mitigation, and are currently still working with the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish and Game.

For example, one area of the land has been worked with a tractor, and its possible the land could be returned to vernal pools.

Orlandella said Fish and Wildlife was very excited about the property because there are five separate areas where Butte County meadowfoam grows, covering about 15 acres.

Currently the land is used for grazing and that will be continued. Grazing helps keep weeds from outcompeting meadowfoam, and also decreases fire risk.

Future plans

Kohrdt said the bank is a win all around. Chico will be able to build some needed housing, Loafer Creek LLC will make a profit over time and a chunk of natural habitat will be protected forever.

Plans are in the works to see if similar mitigation banks would be feasible elsewhere.

The company has invested $30 million to buy 18,000 acres of land in both Butte and Tehama counties. It's keeping its eyes open to buy more.

Kohrdt and Orlandella said they're trying to be completely open about the business acquisitions. Some of the land is suitable for possible groundwater recharge.

Some of the land may also be developed, but the two said they always look to the environment first.

They're also looking to buy land that is key to protecting the watershed.

The properties are listed on aerial maps at www.loafercreek.com. The properties owned are outlined with yellow lines.

Visitors to the Web site can click on certain areas and see what plants and animals are found there.

While his investors will receive a profit, Kohrdt said it really is about protecting the environment first.

He said his investors are fully behind him. "Not one of them has questioned when I do things to help the environment," Kohrdt said.

High-tech management

Loafer Creek is on the cutting edge of use of technology for identifying and maintaining mitigation land.

A global positioning system was used to catalog the plants. Once a plant was identified, it could be plugged into their computer program, and Web site, which shows where each plant is located.

In the future, they will put cameras near habitat, such as a heron rookery. A camera will also go into the vernal pool puddles to identify the fairy shrimp without killing them, Orlandella said.

The group also operates high-tech water monitoring equipment.

The plan is to share their technological approach to environmental monitoring with the public, through showing what they've done, but also helping different agencies that don't have access to the high-cost equipment.

Susan Hill, conservation banking coordinator for Fish and Wildlife, said Loafer Creek worked hard to make Dove Ridge a model mitigation bank.

"They have a very strong commitment toward monitoring and making sure everything is preserved in a way that it should be," Hill said. "That's real refreshing."

The use of technology will make monitoring the progress of the area very efficient, she said. Now that they've gone through the process, the company will also have an easier time establishing future mitigation banks, Hill said.

Kohrdt is on the steering committee for the National Mitigation & Conservation Banking Conference, which will beheld in New Orleans in March (www.mitigationbankingconference.com), and the company's consultant, Michael Ohm, will speak on the topic of "state-of-the-art technologies in planning and monitoring of mitigation banks."