Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

Location

Harrison County, OH

Resource

Stream, Wetland

Solution

Mitigation Bank

Status

Approved

UPPER OHIO MITIGATION BANK, together with EIP’s Tuscarawas Mitigation Bank, is located on 4,200 acres in Harrison County, Ohio. Here EIP has reestablished, rehabilitated, enhanced, and preserved 2.85 miles of ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial streams. Historically, surface mining, logging, cattle pasturing, channelization, roads, and crossings interrupted these streams, disconnecting them from their floodplains. Unsustainable meander and riffle/pool complexes, excessive sediment caused by lateral and vertical erosion, and reduced aquatic habitat resulted. EIP’s restoration work has reversed these trends. EIP has also reconnected, enhanced and preserved wetlands adjacent to streams — all to improve the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of downstream watersheds.

Credits generated through this restoration of these critical aquatic resources are used to compensate for the unavoidable impacts from various economic development projects throughout eastern Ohio.

CREDITS
Stream

SERVICE AREA
Primary
– Upper Ohio HUC 8 Watershed (05030101)
Secondary
– Case-by-case Basis

Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

An aerial view shows the expansive landscape of our stream restoration, riparian buffer enhancement, and vernal pond creation.

Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

During reconstruction, artificially straightened streams begin to take shape into meandering patterns.

Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

Following restoration, this stream's riffle-pool complexes provide habitat for macroinvertebrates and fish.

Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

Tadpoles swim in a constructed pool along the rehabilitated stream.

Upper Ohio Mitigation Bank

The renewed stream boasts a strengthened riparian buffer.

Across Appalachia, restored streams are bringing back flora and fauna

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Our Partners

Hull and Associates brings regional engineering, regulatory, and infrastructure experience to its work with EIP in Ohio and West Virginia. They understand the technical requirements needed to address the challenges of the steep and varied Appalachian landscape, and their knowledge of the local ecosystem helps EIP work with maximum efficiency and accuracy in the region.

SRS Stream Restoration Specialists

Stream Restoration Specialists, based in Corbin, Kentucky, is one of the best stream builders in the industry. EIP has worked on multiple projects with SRS’s expert construction team. Their team members from a range of backgrounds, including former road builders, coal miners, and self-taught stream contractors, are efficient, self-sufficient, and top-notch with project logistics and scheduling. Working in tandem with both EIP and Beaver Creek Hydrology, SRS’s stream building expertise takes design concepts and turns them into reality.

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