Son of Sax Zim Mitigation Bank

Location

St. Louis County

Resource

Wetland

Solution

Mitigation Bank

Status

Pending

Tim Smith

Upper Midwest Representative

SON OF SAX ZIM MITIGATION BANK is a comprehensive ecological restoration and conservation initiative proposed by EIP in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Spanning 5,842 acres, the project aims to restore hydrology, rehabilitate degraded peatland ecosystems, re-establish a natural stream system, and permanently protect a significant expanse of high-quality wetland and upland habitat. The mitigation bank lies within the St. Louis River watershed (HUC 8) and Bank Service Area (BSA) 1.

The site—a historically expansive peatland complex—has been extensively altered by a grid of public drainage ditches installed in the early 20th century. These ditches lowered water tables, degraded ecological functions, and disrupted native bog, fen, and swamp communities. Restoration of these systems addresses longstanding watershed impairments, enhances carbon sequestration, improves downstream water quality, and meets increasing demand for compensatory mitigation credits in the Lake Superior Watershed of Northeastern Minnesota.

The project will disable ~15.8 miles of ditches by filling channels with trees, rootwads, and adjacent mineral spoil, supplemented by checks strategically located to restore groundwater elevations and eliminate artificial drainage. These actions will rehydrate partially drained peat soils, allowing natural bog, conifer swamp, shrub-carr, and sedge meadow communities to regenerate. A large portion of the bank consists of high-quality wetland systems, including extensive old-growth black ash and white cedar swamps, mapped by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and known for exceptional biodiversity.

The project also includes a major restoration of Jenkins Creek, a perennial stream that was historically straightened and entrenched. A Priority I natural channel design approach will construct 18,447 feet of new stable stream channel, reconnect the creek to its floodplain, and enhance habitat through riffle–pool–glide sequences, toe wood, large woody debris placement, and riparian planting. The restored stream system will significantly improve hydrology, geomorphology, and biological function within the watershed.

Credits from the Son of Sax Zim Mitigation Bank are approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fulfill mitigation requirements of Section 404 Clean Water Act permits and Minnesota’s Wetland Conservation Act wetland replacement requirements.

1. 1. CREDITS
  2. – Stream
  3. – Type 7 Hardwood Swamp
  4. – Type 8 Open Bog or Coniferous Bog

SERVICE AREA

Bank Service Area (BSA) 1, including major Minnesota watersheds
– Lake Superior (North) (1)
– Lake Superior (South) (2)
– St. Louis River (3)
– Cloquet River (4)
– Nemadji River (5)

Short Elliott Hendrickson is a nimble local consultant with deep expertise in northern Minnesota’s ecology, hydrology, and regulatory landscape. The SEH team came equipped with a variety of talents to help EIP model, plan, and execute a 24,000-acre bog restoration. In particular, their hydrologic modeling capabilities helped us pioneer a new restoration approach, and enabled us to demonstrate that plugging tens of miles of drainage ditches would restore native peat bog hydrology.

Midwest Amphibious Equipment has been an integral EIP partner from the beginning of our Minnesota work. MAE’s visionary founder Steve Gilbertson recognized the opportunity to perform large-scale wetland restoration to service Minnesota’s Iron Range region, and innovated amphibious equipment tools and techniques specific to Minnesota’s wetland environments. MAE has managed the construction of EIP’s three Minnesota mitigation banks, and also handles the sales of these mitigation credits.

Aquic Stream and Wetland Mitigation Strategies has been working with EIP since 2021 to identify, pursue, and deliver mitigation solutions in the Upper Midwest. Aquic‘s extensive knowledge of the state and federal regulatory programs in the region and in-depth understanding of the mitigation markets is a compliment to EIP’s proven approach for delivering verified and cost-effective mitigation solutions. Aquic provides operational support for EIP mitigation banks in Minnesota and Wisconsin and assists permittees with credit transactions in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.

;