FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Wigginton, (334) 332-1717
   This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

YELLOWLEAF MITIGATION BANK OFFERS HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- 547 acres of Alabama wetland and stream habitat was permanently protected along Yellowleaf Creek in Shelby County on Tuesday, January 12, 2007, when the Freshwater Land Trust of Birmingham recorded the conservation easement and made formal the establishment of Westervelt Ecological Services’ Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank.

With the recording, developers in 19 Alabama counties may now purchase wetland and stream credits in Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank.

Mitigation banking is a relatively new solution for developers, who have a need to mitigate for an impact on a fragile ecosystem or a threatened or endangered species.  Instead of negotiating their own mitigation via the US Army Corps of Engineers, developers buy credits in an established and approved mitigation bank, avoiding the often lengthy approval and ongoing management required to fulfill the mitigation plan.

Established by Westervelt Ecological Services and situated in the Lower Coosa Watershed, Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank serves portions of Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cherokee, Cleburne, Chilton, Coosa, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Lee, Macon, Montgomery, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties within the Coosa-Tallapoosa Basin. 

It is the first mitigation bank located in Shelby County, which also contains a portion of the Cahaba River that receives statewide conservation support for its wide diversity of fish and plant species, including the Cahaba lily. 

Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank will provide permanent protection for 3 endangered mussels, 1 threatened mussel, 1 state-listed mussel, 1 endangered snail, and 1 special concern plant species as determined by federal and state natural resource agencies.

Yellowleaf Creek is an important 6th order stream that is a major tributary to the Coosa River.  The Yellowleaf sub-basin historically contained a very diverse mussel assemblage of at least 27 mussel species and at least 17 aquatic snail species. 

“The opportunity to establish Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank in Alabama as our first full-scale mitigation bank since our formation in June, 2006, is very exciting,” says Alicia Cramer, Westervelt Ecological Services President. 

“Because this project establishes and perpetually protects large tracts of forest along the Yellowleaf Creek, we increase the likelihood of long-term survival and/or population increase for a diversity of aquatic biota and wetland wildlife,” she said.

Developers interested in more information about YMB should visit www.westervelt.com/wes or contact John Wigginton at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .  For more information on mitigation banking, please visit the National Mitigation Banking Association at www.mitigationbanking.org. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John Wigginton, (334) 332-1717
   This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

YELLOWLEAF MITIGATION BANK OFFERS HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- 547 acres of Alabama wetland and stream habitat was permanently protected along Yellowleaf Creek in Shelby County on Tuesday, January 12, 2007, when the Freshwater Land Trust of Birmingham recorded the conservation easement and made formal the establishment of Westervelt Ecological Services’ Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank.

With the recording, developers in 19 Alabama counties may now purchase wetland and stream credits in Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank.

Mitigation banking is a relatively new solution for developers, who have a need to mitigate for an impact on a fragile ecosystem or a threatened or endangered species.  Instead of negotiating their own mitigation via the US Army Corps of Engineers, developers buy credits in an established and approved mitigation bank, avoiding the often lengthy approval and ongoing management required to fulfill the mitigation plan.

Established by Westervelt Ecological Services and situated in the Lower Coosa Watershed, Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank serves portions of Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cherokee, Cleburne, Chilton, Coosa, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Lee, Macon, Montgomery, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties within the Coosa-Tallapoosa Basin. 

It is the first mitigation bank located in Shelby County, which also contains a portion of the Cahaba River that receives statewide conservation support for its wide diversity of fish and plant species, including the Cahaba lily. 

Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank will provide permanent protection for 3 endangered mussels, 1 threatened mussel, 1 state-listed mussel, 1 endangered snail, and 1 special concern plant species as determined by federal and state natural resource agencies.

Yellowleaf Creek is an important 6th order stream that is a major tributary to the Coosa River.  The Yellowleaf sub-basin historically contained a very diverse mussel assemblage of at least 27 mussel species and at least 17 aquatic snail species. 

“The opportunity to establish Yellowleaf Mitigation Bank in Alabama as our first full-scale mitigation bank since our formation in June, 2006, is very exciting,” says Alicia Cramer, Westervelt Ecological Services President. 

“Because this project establishes and perpetually protects large tracts of forest along the Yellowleaf Creek, we increase the likelihood of long-term survival and/or population increase for a diversity of aquatic biota and wetland wildlife,” she said.

Developers interested in more information about YMB should visit www.westervelt.com/wes or contact John Wigginton at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .  For more information on mitigation banking, please visit the National Mitigation Banking Association at www.mitigationbanking.org. 

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