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Wetland Mitigation Documents


Monroe County (EDR)

EPA Wetland Mitigation

Monroe County 
GIS Analyst
Justin Cole 
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Wetland Mitigation

Feasibility Study


This study Considers ONLY County Parks
(Click image for larger view.)

Fiscal crisis has caused our current county administration to target our parks for exploitation in the form of constructed wetlands. Last year, a feasibility study was conducted for the County to investigate placing constructed wetlands, as “mitigation wetland banks” in our parks.

More in depth Explanation:

What does this mean? 

It means that those destroying wetlands throughout Monroe County will be able to purchase credits (like carbon credits) in a wetland mitigation bank created by the county.  In a county park.  Park land will be altered to make way for this wetland bank.  Land that is habitat currently to one set of species will be destroyed to make way for wetland creation.

 The county tried this three years ago, unsuccessfully, in Black Creek Park, when airport expansion destroyed existing wetlands.  To “mitigate” for this wetland destruction, a field well known as excellent butterfly and bobolink habitat, was plowed under for conversion to "wet land".   If you visit that “wet land” today, it is difficult to tell that it is a wetland. True wetlands take centuries to create.  Much of this one seems to have reverted to field, but now the field is full of exotic (non-native) plants. The original habitat was destroyed and the butterflies and bobolinks (a rare  grassland bird) have not returned.

Why were parks targeted?

A county Department of Environmental Services presentation given in July of 2009 described the selection of Monroe County Parks for wetland mitigation simply due to their accessibility. This presentation describes an “innovative and low-cost plan to involve the public in monitoring the wetland banks.” Such a plan certainly avoids actual, costly, monitoring and compliance.  Can average citizens monitor constructed wetlands?

Cole Presentation

"Locating Potential Wetland Mitigation Sites 
in Monroe County"
Presentation By Justin Cole
Monroe County Senior GIS Analyst 
 July 14, 2009

(Click to see larger image)

How are such wetlands monitored?

In fact, records of monitoring, management and corrective measures with constructed wetlands show very low compliance rates.  Staffing is in limited supply to conduct rigorous site visits to evaluate the basic requirements for a wetland--water quality, water retention, water quantity, soils, topography, flora and fauna.  No one is looking critically or scientifically at these constructed wetlands.

What is the status?

Recently, an RFP (Request For Proposal) went out, based on last year’s feasibility study, to selected potential developers of these banks on an “Expression of Interest” basis; in order to see this RFP a Freedom of Information request was required.  

If citizens were aware of this plan to convert existing parkland to constructed wetlands, they would never approve this change in status.  Clearly there is an effort to keep information about this from the public, who will be voting in a few weeks.

What can we do?

Vote out the current Legislature and vote in candidates who will not rubber-stamp this bad government that has brought us the FAIR PLAN, ROBUTRAD, and now DESTRUCTION OF PARKS.