Mitigation / Conservation Banking
Mitigation and Conservation Banking
Mitchell Chadwick is the legal industry’s leader in the field of mitigation and conservation banking.
Mitigation and conservation bank development continues to be an important and thriving industry in California. From wetland credits to endangered species, Mitchell Chadwick’s attorneys work for prospective mitigation bankers, bank operators, bank investors, and land owners.
Mitchell Chadwick’s expertise includes permitting conservation and mitigation banks throughout California, including pre-entitlement turn-key mitigation options so bank sponsors and landowners can “pre-sell” bank credits even before the bank is fully entitled. When necessary, our attorneys have also successfully defended mitigation banks in court when challenged by neighboring landowners, cities, or other agencies. We work closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the various Regional Water Quality Control Boards to navigate the myriad of regulatory requirements and cut through legal red tape to obtain the necessary permits and fully realize the project’s value.
We’re known throughout California for using our experience and relationships to entitle mitigation/conservation banks on time and on budget and then successfully defending our clients’ projects from all challengers through the administrative process and, when necessary, in court.
Conservation Easements
Mitchell Chadwick attorneys in the past five years successfully lead the effort to complete the largest prime agricultural land conservation easement in California history covering about 9,300 acres in Fresno County. They have also worked on numerous other conservation easements throughout the state ranging in size from 5 acres to several thousand acres. The reason for the easements can be varied including mitigation requirements for proposed development projects to tax deductible charitable contributions unrelated to any development project, to family ranchers wanting to prevent the land from being developed, to the ned for ranchers or farmers to sell an easement on their property to raise revenue, while at the same time continuing to assure that they can continue to farm or ranch their property. Conservation easements are also triggered in the mitigation bank context. We have worked on easements covering land for agricultural, open space, wildlife habitat and wetland issues.