BANKS

The LWITW Mitigation Bank is a 805.21-acre conservation area established to provide compensatory mitigation for wetland impacts located in the Kissimmee River basin. The Bank consists of a mixture of degraded natural forested wetlands and upland habitats, where the habitats have been logged for bay, cypress, slash pine and long leaf pine trees; overgrown with oaks; and planted with slash pine trees. In general, the site consists of overgrown mixed wetland forested wetlands, freshwater marsh wetlands converted to pasture via an extensive ditch network at the lowest elevations with forested wet pine flatwood perimeters, hydric hammock, and upland scrubby flatwoods habitat in the higher areas; most areas of these habitats have been logged and planted with slash pine plantation. The entire site is currently degraded by selective logging, inappropriate vegetation due to lack of fire, cattle grazing, and hydrologic impacts due to the construction of canals/ditches, dirt roads, and the overabundance of pine and oaks. The restoration of the Bank will consist of cessation of agricultural/silvicultural activities; removal of cattle; removal of road beds, exotic species eradication, thinning trees and shrubs, herbaceous seeding, shrub planting, planting of slash pine, cypress and long leaf pine trees, and reintroduction of prescribed fire to restore all of the wetland and upland buffer habitats to optimal condition.

The LWITWMB will have palustrine forested and palustrine emergent credits available approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Bank will also have freshwater forested and freshwater herbaceous credits available approved by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).