California Natural Resources Agency

Audience(s): Tribes, non-tribal government partners, NGO partners

Tribal Stewardship Policy priorities: Ancestral Land Return; Collaboration; Access; Durability; Caring for the Land; Funding Stewardship; Navigating State Agencies 

Objectives: This toolkit entry includes an introduction to conservation and mitigation banking in California and provides resources for tribes seeking to establish or build tribally owned and operated mitigation banks.

This toolkit entry was developed to support the implementation of California Natural Resources Agency’s Tribal Stewardship Policy and Toolkit. This webinar and associated resources are intended to increase the capacity of tribes, state agencies, and non-tribal entities to advance tribal stewardship, including tribal access, collaboration, and ancestral land return according to the CNRA Tribal Stewardship Policy.

This toolkit entry includes an introduction to conservation and mitigation banking in California and provides resources for tribes seeking to establish or build tribally owned and operated mitigation banks. It includes a webinar featuring practitioners in tribal conservation banking.

What is Conservation “Banking?” Conservation banking is land that is conserved in advance of impacts by development projects that could harm species and habitat—sometimes called “advanced mitigation.” The ultimate goal of mitigation and conservation banks is to maintain and improve the quality and quantity of aquatic resources within watersheds. There are two types of banks—”mitigation banks,” typically used for banks with wetland restoration, and “conservation banks,” typically used for species banks or wetland preservation. Federal mitigation banking was formalized in legislation, including the 1972 Clean Water Act. A 2008 rule, the Compensatory Mitigation for Losses of Aquatic Resources rule, established more detailed information to guide banking processes.

What is conservation and mitigation banking in California? CDFW’s Conservation and Mitigation Banking program was established in 2013. CNRA and CDFW have signed onto an 8 agency MOU that allows the agencies to work together to provide advance mitigation credits for species and habitats. CDFW’s banking program is actively reviewing over 60 banks and has over 100 established banks. This has resulted in over 77,000 acres protected in perpetuity, which help California’s 30x30 goal.

Can California Native American tribes establish mitigation banks? One evolving component of conservation and mitigation banking is better understanding tribal stewardship. To help answer these complex questions, CDFW invites tribes to participate in the conservation and mitigation banking program. More information on the program can be found on our banking website- Conservation and Mitigation Banking. General questions can be sent to mitconnect@wildlife.ca.gov.

Watch the webinar

This webinar features David Smith-Ferri, the Petaluma River Mitigation Bank Project Manager for Dry Creek Rancheria, Melissa Denena, Sr. Principal Ecologist at Environmental Science Associates, and Skip Moss, Chief Strategic Officer at Natural Resources Group and Board President at California Ecological Restoration Business Association (CalERBA).

You can download the webinar slides here

Resources

• CDFW: Conservation and Mitigation Banking
  • This website features state-produced resources for potential or active conservation and mitigation bankers.
  • CDFW 2014 Conservation and Mitigation Banking Guidelines
• Key Regulatory Guiding Documents: Federal Resources for Mitigation Banking
  • USACE HQ mitigation website including 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule
  • USACE SPD Regional Compensatory Mitigation and Monitoring Guidelines
  • USACE SPD Regulatory website (banking MOU, templates, public notices)
  • USFWS Conservation Banking website
  • NMFS Mitigation Banks, Conservation Banks, and In-Lieu Fee Programs in the West Coast Region
  • EPA Mitigation Banks under CWA Section 404
  • RIBITS
• Learn more about Tribal Mitigation Banking
  • Tribal mitigation banking, a California case study: A New Beginning: Petaluma River Mitigation Bank Would be a First for California's Tribes — Environmental Science Associates
  • Tribal mitigation banking, a tribal trust lands case study: Lummi Nation Wetland Mitigation Bank
    • Lummi Wetland and Habitat Mitigation Bank | Case Study by Harvard Project on American Indian Development
      • This document includes more background describing how Lummi Nation established their mitigation bank.
  • Tribal Compensatory Mitigation | By Mariah Black Bird-Perry, Environmental Policy Innovation Center
    • This white paper examines the considerations for tribes navigating a regulatory program that does not consider them as a sponsor or participant in providing offsets. Dive in and learn a little bit more about the tribes who have navigated Section 404 Clean Water Act, the Compensatory Mitigation rule.
  • When Fee to Trust Isn’t Viable: Conservation Easements as an Efficient Alternative to Fee-to-Trust Transactions | Berkey Williams LLP (2015)
    • This slide deck provides high-level background on conservation easements in the context of fee lands.
  • Learn more about the BIA Fee-to-Trust process here: Fee to Trust Land Acquisitions | Indian Affairs
    • Updated BIA Fee-to-Trust regulations: eCFR :: 25 CFR Part 151 -- Land Acquisitions