What Lands are Appropriate for Banking?

A carefully selected conservation or mitigation bank site increases the likelihood of a successful bank with the maximum conservation value and sustainable mitigation for sensitive species, habitats, streams, and wetland impacts.

CDFW encourages bank sites to:

• Protect significant high value biological resources that are present on the property or where restoration is planned and feasible.
• Contribute to a regional conservation goal such as those outlined in a Natural Community Conservation Plan, Regional Conservation Investment Strategy, Conceptual Area Protection Plan, ¹ or recovery plan (e.g., US Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan(opens in new tab), CDFW recovery plan), and
• Be of sufficient size or connected to other conserved lands to support contiguous habitat that will provide for the long-term conservation of sensitive species, habitats, streams, and wetlands.

The following types of lands are generally not appropriate for conservation/mitigation bank sites:

• Has been or is being used for mitigation.
• CDFW-owned lands (e.g., Ecological Reserves or Wildlife Areas) or conserved lands (e.g., where CDFW is a conservation easement grantee or third-party beneficiary).
• Lands with existing conservation easements unless carved out.
• Lands inconsistent with habitat preservation (e.g., lands designated or dedicated for park or open space use).
• Have recorded and unrecorded interest that have reserved rights (e.g., mineral, water) and/or allow, or have allowed, uses (e.g., lands purchased for roads, railroads, landfills, munitions, or leases) that are incompatible or inconsistent with the conservation values of the proposed bank .

Please see the Bank Site Selection Considerations Document (Word) for more information.

[1] Conceptual Area Protection Plans (CAPPs) encompass larger geographic areas than a Land Acquisition Evaluation (single or limited number of parcels and/or owners) and serve as planning tools for a region to protect large blocks of habitat. CAPPs typically cover an area with multiple owners, many of which may have no interest in selling at the present time. CAPPs include a prioritization of parcels where purchase or easement offers are first focused.