Aquatic Plants of Florida

APF

JACKSONVILLE, FL – May 6, 2008 – Aquatic Plants of Florida, Inc., one of the earliest providers of native plants and services for the habitat restoration industry, along with more than 200 organizations, including hundreds of attendees, participated in the National Mitigation Banking Association’s annual event.

The conference focused on mitigation and conservation banking and expanding into ecosystem markets.

Presentations and areas of interest included:

Science – Ecological Criteria & Performance Standards
Long-term stewardship, ensuring perpetuity
New & emerging markets (e.g. Carbon, Water Quality Trading, Climate Change, International, Others)
Ecosystem services, markets & green infrastructure
Stream mitigation banking
Multiple markets, stacking, overlapping service areas, anti-trust laws
Federal regulatory, legislative, court updates
Recommended practices from regulators, IRT (MBRT) negotiations
Across the States: struggles & opportunities with banking
Success stories & lessons learned
The business of banking
Land acquisitions, conservation easements, land use implications
Technological advances, new techniques & methods
Mitigation Banking vs. in-lieu fee vs. on-site mitigation, NCPs, NCCPS
State of established banks
Regulatory, legislative, court updates, and,
Comparison of functional assessments & methods of determining credits

For more conference information, please visit www.mitigationbanking.org or call 888.272.NMBA.

About The National Mitigation Banking Association

The National Mitigation Banking Association brings together leaders who are committed to a unique concept for restoring and conserving America’s wetlands and other natural resources – a concept that unites sound economic and environmental practices.

Established in 1998, the organization promotes federal legislation and regulatory policy that encourages mitigation banking and conservation banking as a means of compensating for adverse impacts to our nation’s environment.