Project Summary

Project Background

In May 2008, EIP acquired 2,510 acres adjacent to The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Talisheek Pine Wetlands Preserve in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.

The property was selected by EIP because of:

• Its importance as one of the largest restorable wet pine savanna properties in Louisiana; an increasingly scarce and highly threatened ecosystem that once dominated the Gulf Coastal Plain
• The ever-increasing demand for high-quality, wetland mitigation credits to offset unavoidable development impacts north of New Orleans

In 1998 The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana began acquiring a series of parcels that came to be known as the Talisheek Pine Wetlands Preserve, now one of the largest complexes of pine savanna wetlands in the United States. This preserve, located about fifty miles north of New Orleans, is dominated by longleaf pine forest on the uplands and open wet pine savanna in the lower flats. The restoration of longleaf pine habitat is a high conservation priority because very little of the original 1.3 million acres still remain in Louisiana, and over 20 rare, threatened or endangered species are found in the preserve including the gopher tortoise, Bachman’s sparrow, mud salamander, pitcher plants, pine woods lily, and bog flame flower.

In order to continue its expansion of protected areas in this unique ecoregion, TNC approached EIP in mid-2007 to request assistance in the restoration and protection of additional significant properties. This discussion led to the development of an exceptional for-profit/non-profit partnership that is capitalizing on TNC’s unparalleled science, conservation, and stewardship knowledge, and EIP’s unique financial and mitigation bank management resources.

The property's primary source of revenues comes from the sale of wetland mitigation credits generated on the property.  In March, 2010, EIP established the Mossy Hill Wetland Mitigation Bank on 2,263 acres of the property.  Each acre in the bank that is restored and protected will generate one mitigation credit, yielding 2,263 total credits that are expected to be sold to commercial, infrastructure, and residential developments in the Covington/Lacombe/Slidell area on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. 

Following the restoration of the property, the development of mitigation and conservation banks and the sale of ecosystem credits, the resulting ownership will consist of over 2,500 acres with high recreational value (quail, deer, turkey hunting) and aesthetic qualities highly desirable to many outdoor enthusiasts and recreational land buyers. As one of the largest remaining intact properties in the greater New Orleans area, EIP’s property will be an attractive acquisition opportunity for private conservation buyers, conservation organizations, or public resource agencies.

Project Location

View Mossy Hill Wetland Mitigation Bank in a larger map

Components of Value

Wetland Mitigation Banking
Due to the rapid and unrelenting pace of development north of New Orleans, there is significant demand for new mitigation credits in the region with a very limited number of properties capable of generating the large-scale conservation and restoration required to provide them. Permitted development in this area currently impacts an average of over 350 acres of wet pine savanna annually, requiring over 500 acres of mitigation. The property is being developed into a mitigation bank (the Mossy Hill Mitigation Bank) of approximately 2,263 acres to provide quality Clean Water Act compliance in compensation for these impacts.

Longleaf pine's morphology is well-adapted to fire, and prescribed fire is an important part of ongoing mitigation bank management. 

Conservation Finance
EIP is working with The Nature Conservancy to sell a Forest Legacy conservation easement over the non-wetland mitigation banking portions of the property to insure the restored areas are properly buffered and the entire habitat remains intact forever.

Sustainable Silviculture
The property has been managed historically for loblolly and slash pine pulp products. To convert the lowland portions of the property into the proper longleaf pine community, significant thinning and harvesting are being conducted in these early years of the project. This, combined with the continued management of the upland portions for longleaf pine, has the potential to generate timber revenues.

Conservation Banking
The property contains approximately 248 acres of upland that may be restored into habitat for the endangered gopher tortoise and developed into a conservation bank. EIP is working with the US Fish & Wildlife Service to establish this program to offset impacts from development projects that have unavoidable impacts to gopher tortoise habitat. Total carrying capacity of the uplands is a function of soil types and restoration practices.

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