Calcasieu Pine Savanna Mitigation Bank
Location
Allen Parish, LA
Resource
Wetland
Solution
Mitigation Bank
Status
Approved
Codi Moore Brown
Credit Sales Representative
CALCASIEU PINE SAVANNA MITIGATION BANK is located in Allen Parish, Louisiana. Biodiversity-rich pine savanna once flourished across the Gulf Coast, but was decimated by logging, development, and fire suppression. Today, less than two percent of this original habitat remains. The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Natural Heritage program have stressed the importance of this habitat, classifying it in the highest-importance category: “Rare, Imperiled, and Difficult to Replace.”
EIP’s mitigation plan included the restoration and permanent protection of more than 1,486 acres of vital wetlands through a prescribed fire regime, restoring hydrology, and planting 468,000 native longleaf pine trees. Restoration was completed in Spring 2018.
Now, Calcasieu Pine Savanna Mitigation Bank — along with nearby restored conservation lands — provides an ecologically significant tract that contributes to the reestablishment of this important regional habitat.
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The Calcasieu Mitigation Bank is approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fulfill mitigation requirements of Section 404 Clean Water Act permits.
CREDITS AVAILABLE
Wetland (pine flatwoods/savanna credits)
SERVICE AREA
Calcasieu LRAM Basin, including
– Upper Calcasieu River (08080203) subbasin
– Whiskey Chitto (08080204) subbasin
– West Fork Calcasieu (08080205) subbasin
– Lower Calcasieu (08080206) subbasin
Our Partners
Since the early 1980s, David Daigle of Daigle Farms in Ragley, Louisiana, has worked with federal, state, and local agencies to develop and execute conservation practices such as prescribed burns, fire breaks, prescribed grazing, forest stand improvements, and nutrient management. Dave is passionate about reestablishing the once vast landscape of pine savanna habitat in Louisiana, and EIP is fortunate to partner with him in our conservation work at Calcasieu Mitigation Bank. In 2020, Dave received the Hugh Hammond Bennett Award for Conservation Excellence from the National Conservation Planning Partnership.