Riverpark Mitigation Bank
Location
Riverside County, CA
Resources
Wetland
Solution
Mitigation Bank
Status
Approved
RIVERPARK MITIGATION BANK is located in the valley below the Perris Reservoir — the southern terminus of the California State Water Project that moves water all the way from the San Francisco Bay Delta. Restoration at the site has restored nearly 1,000 acres of floodplain habitat. This important ecological resource permanently protects several species of endangered plants and rare vernal pools on the historic floodplain of the San Jacinto River.
EIP worked with local experts on site hydrology, soils, and plants, and developed a plan to fill in a large ditch that had been cut to drain the area in the 1930s. The new grading of the site allows that channel and adjacent lands to revert to a more natural condition over time.
The mitigation bank site is also located in one of the priority areas designated by the Western Riverside County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) — the largest such conservation planning area in the United States. The goal of the MSHCP is to protect and restore habitat for 146 listed species in Riverside County, which is one of the fastest growing areas of the county. EIP worked with the County’s Regional Conservation Authority to allow them to hold the conservation easement on the mitigation bank land, along with an endowment for monitoring the property over time. The San Diego Habitat Conservancy will provide long-term management of the bank.
Once used as a place to dump old tires and trash, the newly restored landscape has been planted with locally sourced seed and will become a wide-open vista of wildflowers each springtime for years to come.
Credits provide compensatory mitigation for most California Section 1600 Lake and Streambed Alteration, Waters of the U.S., Waters of the State, and Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Riparian Riverine impacts.
CREDITS AVAILABLE
Wetland
– Wetland Resources
SERVICE AREA
– Santa Ana River Watershed
– San Jacinto Valley Watershed
– Santa Margarita River Watershed
Our Partners
As evidenced through our collaboration at Riverpark Mitigation Bank and Lookout Slough, Hanford Applied Restoration & Conservation has proven a truly exceptional restoration specialist and partner, investing time and energy to add great value through the entire construction and restoration process. Hanford ARC’s ability to see construction and regulatory efficiencies helps us avoid redundancies and achieve substantial project savings. Hanford ARC conducted the construction at Riverpark that wrapped up in 2020 and continues construction on the ground as part of a web of innovative EIP partnerships executing our Pay for Performance contract on behalf of California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR).
As one of our trusted partners at Riverpark Mitigation Bank, Helix Environmental Planning has delivered EIP real-time data from the field that has helped drive our decision making for restoration design and construction.
With deep relationships among local stakeholders, McCollum & Sweetwater is a trusted partner to EIP’s national team, bringing our customers their knowledge and experience in finding cost-effective mitigation solutions for Section 404 / 1600 / ESA permits. McCollum & Sweetwater handles the sale of EIP’s credits for Riverpark Mitigation Bank.
River Focus Inc. is a trusted technical advisor to EIP in our efforts at Riverpark Mitigation Bank, with deep experience in Southern California hydrologic analysis, floodplain management, hydraulic modeling, and streambank protection. The team’s expertise in hydrologic and hydraulic analyses was critical to inform project field design modifications and as-built reporting.