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Farmer-led wetland mitigation bank offers an NRCS compliance route for producers
Summary
North Dakota Ag Mitigation (NDAM) described a farmer-managed NRCS wetland mitigation bank that issues acre credits to allow producers to remain eligible for USDA programs while restoring/enhancing wetland sites; presenters said two bank sites produced ~38.8 credits to date and average sales were just under $14,000 per credit.
Representatives of North Dakota Ag Mitigation (NDAM) told the committee they launched a farmer-led NRCS wetland mitigation bank in 2021 to give producers an option to stay eligible for USDA farm programs when wetlands are affected by drainage.
Matt Perdue (NDAM treasurer) described NDAM as a nonprofit that runs a farmer-to-farmer market: landowners host and restore wetland bank sites and buyers (producers who need mitigation credits) purchase credits. He emphasized NDAM does not cover Fish & Wildlife Service easement issues; NDAM is focused on NRCS wetland determinations and the Swampbuster compliance regime.
Matt Retka (engineer, Stantec) and a technical consultant explained operational details: an acre credit equals one acre on an NRCS map, bank sites require certified wetland determinations and NRCS approval, NDAM holds mitigation easements (limited to 99 years by state statute), and upfront host construction costs are typically covered initially by grant funds with hosts responsible for construction costs when a site is approved. Retka said NDAM sold roughly 38.8 credits, had 17.1 acre credits for sale at the time of presentation, and the average credit sale price was just under $14,000.
Committee members asked whether credit sale prices might be used by other agencies (e.g., USFWS) as benchmarks for buybacks; NDAM staff said credit prices result from closed-bid auctions and that the federal government does not set those market prices.
What's next: NDAM seeks additional bank sites and NRCS approvals; the committee asked DWR and agencies for follow-up on how mitigation banks interact with federal easements and program eligibility.
