Mitigation Banks for Sage-Grouse Habitat

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has been working to support the development of a Mitigation Bank Program for sage-grouse habitat restoration. They have divided significant sage grouse habitat into three service areas for mitigation; Northern Great Basin, Central, and Western Great Basin. Last month, the Northern Great Basin area was the first to have an approved mitigation bank in Cow Valley, Oregon.

The Mitigation Bank Program is designed to support developers in restoring and preserving sage-grouse habitat and to create economic development opportunities in rural counties. Based on evaluations of the property, credits are calculated and set up to compensate for the offset loss of habitat (debits).

In May 2024, an inter agency review team (IRT) assembled in Ontario, Oregon for a half day meeting to review the Northern Great Basin site management plan with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Fish and Wildlife Services, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Department of State Lands, and some of ODFW’s biologists. The purpose was to have transparency with other entities and agencies, to review the property and actions they were proposing, and to evaluate all working lands and the impacts of grazing. Their main goal – conserve habitat. Together, they worked on comments from the IRT with TerraWest consulting.

However, shortly after this team work, the Cow Valley and Durkee fires hit this region. Post fire, the team has been actively restoring and working on the property, with a vested interest in the habitat for sage-grouse. These fires, thankfully, haven't set back the timeline of this mitigation bank project, and we look forward to hearing partners' opinions about this work at this year’s SageCon Summit field tour!