When bulldozers and road graders turn wetland areas into neighborhoods, business parks and other places for modern use, the loss to nature is permanent. Understandably, the developers are expected to compensate for that loss. This is especially important in Washington state, where the scales that balance growth with quality of life can quickly tilt if not monitored carefully.
Developers and the state Department of Ecology do a reasonably good job of maintaining this balance, and an even better strategy — the “wetland banks” concept — is emerging. Two examples of this new way of doing things are under way locally, one near the Port of Vancouver and the other in north Clark County. So far, we’re encouraged by the progress.
The traditional way for a developer to mitigate loss of wetlands is to build some kind of on-site, piecemeal project that is intended to promote drainage or natural growth. These smaller projects often fall short of their purpose. As we noted in an earlier editorial, in 2002 the Department of Ecology reported that only 13 percent of such projects were considered fully successful, and fewer than half were even moderately successful.
The new way is for developers to combine their money and increase their mitigation power on larger projects. These “wetland banks” sell “credits” to the developers. One example is the Columbia River Wetland Mitigation Bank near the Port of Vancouver. It’s the first certified wetland bank in Southwest Washington, and includes more than 100 acres of the old Rufener Dairy property that had been sold to the port. Plans are to restore the wetlands, plant native trees and shrubs and enhance forest areas and upland floodplains.