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Butterfield Road Wetland Mitigation Bank
80 acres restored, 34.1 mitigation credits
Wetland Banker: Land and Water Resources, Inc. (LAWR)
Land Owner and Long Term Manager:
Libertyville Township
Betty Ann Moore
359 Merrill Court.
Libertyville, Illinois 60048
(847) 816-6800
USACOE Permit 19980192
LAWR teamed up with Libertyville Township to re-create 80 acres of wetlands and upland prairie from a farm field near Vernon Hills, Lake County, Illinois. This bank is a private-public partnership in that both LAWR and the Libertyville Township are the beneficiary of profits from the sale of credits in the bank. Libertyville Township owned the property and is responsible for long term management. LAWR was responsible for all aspects of the bank from conception, development, financing, permitting, construction, operation, and sales.
The site was previously a cornfield with a drainage ditch (Seavey Ditch) running through it. Seavey Ditch drains downtown Mundelein and has a history of flooding issues. Historic photos revealed that the ditch used to meander through the floodplain of the site.
A major drain tile (running several miles) also ran through the site. Due to the topography of the site and the drainage patterns, LAWR did not re-meander the ditch, but was able to open up the drain tile and create small berms down the slopes into a series of step pools emergent areas.
LAWR also lowered the floodplain on part of the site to create 8.9 acre feet of additional flood storage to assist Mundelein with flood relief. This area has developed into a wet prairie area.
The Township then placed paths throughout the site, connecting them into a regional network of trails. This project required extensive interaction with neighboring homeowners associations.
Management activities at the site included aggressive herbiciding of invasive species, mowing and burning.
Libertyville Township uses the site as open space and a natural area. Land and Water Resources was able to create and sell 39.64 acres of wetland mitigation credits to offset 30.72 acres of wetland impact.
This bank was visited and highlighted in studies of wetland mitigation by the National Academy of Science and the GAO. In all, over 196 plant species have been identified at the site. Of these, over 69% are native species. The site has achieved a floristic quality of a moderately high quality natural area as defined by Swink and Wilhelm (1994). This bank received final sign off from the regulatory agencies and now is exclusively managed by the Township.
SOLD OUT!