Operating Procedures for 

 Development and Use of a Wetland Bank in Idaho 



The following are operating procedures which result from the memorandum 

 of agreement for developoment and use of a wetland bank in Idaho and are 

 intended to further define and implement the memorandum. Procedures for 

 additions and modifications to these operating procedures are outlined in 

 the memorandum of agreement. 



1. Preamble: 



a. The Idaho inter-agency wetland banking team has investigated the 

 usefulness of banking as a mitigation technique for roadway impacts to 

 wetlands. Team members incfude representatives from the following 

 agencies: 



United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) 



United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) 



United States Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE) 



Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 



Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) 



Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) 



Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) 



Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Division of Environment 



(IDHW, DE) 



Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) 



b. The team concluded that appropriate use of a wetland bank could 

 benefit both development and resource agencies. It will: 



•Allow for mitigation of unavoidable impacts to wetlands. 



•Create the opportunity to develop a comprehensive mitigation plan - 



rather than piecemeal mitigation - for several projects with minor 



individual, but significant cumulative Impacts to wetlands. 



•Allow for better evaluation of a mitigation proposal by presenting a 



functioning wetland, rather than a paper plan. 



•Create the opportunity to develop one large, more easily managed, 



wetland mitigation site rather than numerous, small sites. 



•Improve agency coordination by positioning agencies in a planning 



rather than a reactive mode. 



•Expedite project permit review. 



