Montebello Mitigation Bank (VA) recently received formal approvals from all required federal and state authorities for its project near Orange, Virginia.
Montebello-Rosse Trust., the Bank Sponsor, established the Montebello Mitigation Bank to provide offset compensation for the unavoidable loss of jurisdictional Waters of the United States, including streams and riparian buffers, and their associated ecological functions and services related unavoidable impacts under the Clean Water Act.
Trout Headwaters, tasked with co-management of the Mitigation Bank, has begun restoration of wetlands, streams and riparian buffers on the this important project. The vital water resources and their associated riparian buffers will be preserved in perpetuity by easements and stewardship agreements through the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.
“Permanently restored resources, like the precious riparian forests, streams and wetlands on this once-damaged landscape, could not be more vital in this time of rapid climate change and ongoing species extinctions,” said Trout Headwaters’ CEO Michael Sprague.
