Project Features:
Florida Gulf Coast Mitigation Bank (FGCMB) consists of 1,587.5 acres in Levy County, Florida located east of Cedar Key in the Waccasassa River Basin (Figure 1). The site is situated among several large tracts of conservation lands, including the Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, the Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park, the Lower Waccasassa Bay Conservation Area, the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve, and the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge. Considered the “hole in the doughnut,” FGCMB provides an almost continuous stretch of conservation land along the northern Gulf Coast. It is characterized by coastal scrub habitats, upland coniferous forests, pine flatwoods communities and sand pine scrub, in addition to maritime hammocks, mixed hardwood coniferous forests, wetland forests, mangrove swamps, and both freshwater and saltwater marshes that add unique diversity to this part of Florida.
FGCMB has a total of 78.82 potential credits, including 2.59 potential freshwater depression marsh credits, 41.42 potential freshwater forested wetland credits, and 34.81 potential saltwater tidal marsh wetlands credits. Freshwater credits are permitted to offset wetland impacts within the Waccasassa River drainage basin and portions of the Suwannee river, Coastal Rivers and Withlacoochee River drainage basins. The saltwater service area includes tidal saltmarsh communities from the mouth of the Ochlocknee River in Wakulla County, southwater to the south bank of the Anclote River in Pasco County.
FGCMB Restoration and Enhancement Plan
The FGCMB has preserved and enhanced a series of diverse upland and wetland habitats within the coastal zone of the Gulf of Mexico. FGCMB has permanently protected 1,587.50 acres of ecologically valuable habitat that harbors several endangered and threatened species that include the highly endangered Florida salt marsh vole, as well as other listed species such as the Florida scrub-jay, wood stork, whooping crane and Gopher tortoise. Specific work tasks that have occurred include the recording of a Conservation Easement over the entire property, restoration of the connectivity and natural hydroperiod of saltwater marshes by removing two sections of road and constructing low water crossings, enhancement of freshwater marshes through mechanical treatment and prescribed fire, enhancement of mesic flatwoods through prescribed fire and enhancement of coastal scrub.
Florida Gulf Coast Mitigation Bank is currently for sale! For more information please email Info@MitigationMarketing.com or call us at 407-481-0677.