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A national leader since 1994 in creating, building and managing wetland mitigation banks.
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Atkinson Road Wetland Mitigation Bank
80 acres restored, 52.91 mitigation credits
Wetland Banker: Land and Water Resources, Inc. (LAWR)
Land Owner and Long Term Manager:
Libertyville Township - Kathleen O’Connor
359 Merrill Court
Libertyville, Illinois 60048
(847) 816-6800
USACOE Permit LRC-2009-235
Status: Currently being Constructed
LAWR teamed up with Libertyville Township to re-create 80 acres of wetlands and upland forest from a degraded site in Green Oaks, Lake County, Illinois. This bank is a private-public partnership in that both LAWR and the Libertyville Township are the beneficiary of profits from the sale of credits in the bank. Libertyville Township owns the property and is responsible for long term management. LAWR was responsible for all aspects of the bank from conception, development, financing, permitting, construction, operation, and sales.
The site has been degraded by a dense infestation of European buchthorne, an invasive species. LAWR will be clearing the site of buchthorne, breaking agricultural field tiles that drain the site, seeding with a diverse seed mix and managing the site to bring it to the performance standards required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
There is an existing path network on the site. LAWR will be reconstructing the paths so that the public can better utilize the site.
Management activities at the site included aggressive herbiciding of invasive species, clearing of buckthorne, mowing and burning.
Libertyville Township uses the site as open space and a natural area. Land and Water Resources is able to create and sell 52.91 acres of wetland mitigation credits to offset over 35 acres of wetland impact.
This is the first bank in the Chicago watershed within Lake County. Although still under construction, it has been the topic of discussion at two Lake County sponsored events.