NMBA Conference - Austin Texas

For what its worth, notes of interest from presentations at this years conference:
 
1 - There are really 3 major risks to consider in the mitigation business:  1) project risk 2) regulatory risk 3) market risk.  A pretty simple thought, but a good way to organize ones thoughts when looking at potentially doing new deals or entering new markets.
 
2 - Sheri Lewin of Environmental Resource Marketing in Florida has brokered over $93,000,000 in mitigation sales.  Wow.  I tip my hat to you Sheri....
 
3 - Jacksonville District has 47 approved banks, 39 pending and 5 ILF programs.  New Orleans District has 100 approved, 45 active, 27 pending and 2 ILF programs.  Los Angeles District supposedly has like 10+ ILF programs.
 
4 - Top 3 new markets I heard about that may make sense in Georgia:  water quality trading, species (conservation) banking, and privatization of federally funded non-mitigation restoration and conservation markets (don't do it yourself government, buy credits!).
 
5 - 65% of woodland owners are >55 years old.  A huge intergenerational transfer is on the horizon and the Southeastern US holds the majority of our country's woodlands.  The American Forest Foundation is piloting a volunteer conservation banking program for gopher tortoises in Alabama in Georgia to help promote woodland protection.  They hope to sell credits to Fort Benning on a volunteer basis at first, but on a compensatory mitigation level eventually.
 
6 - Conservation banking with aquatic endangered species is a tricky business due the fact that the species are mostly affected by land uses outside of federal regulatory jurisdictions.  Successful programs have gotten around this by setting up county ordinances to require offsets for impacts within 200 feet of applicable streams.
 
Trey