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tallgrass <br />LAND CONSERVATION <br />WETLAND BANKING WITH TALLGRASS LAND CONSERVATION <br />INVITATION TO LANDOWNERS <br />Tallgrass is introducing you to an extraordinary opportunity that improves the environment AND benefits you <br />financially. We are creating wetland banks, restored wetlands that sell credits to land developers. We can `turn -key' a <br />mitigation project, assuming the financial and management costs to develop a revenue stream for our partners. <br />What is a wetland? <br />Wetlands are shallow -water habitats, including marshes, swamps, bogs, fens with their own complex mix of plants and <br />animals. They are beautiful in all seasons and provide healthy habitats for wildlife, including endangered birds, mammals, <br />and shellfish. Wetlands also protect our lives and homes by holding and controlling floodwaters, filtering pollutants that <br />flow into our water systems and by storing carbon, delaying the release of gases that cause climate change <br />More than half of the almost 120 million acres of American wetlands have been lost to agriculture and development. <br />Urgently needed wetlands protection came with the national "No Net Loss" policy. This policy was first adopted by <br />President George H.W. Bush's administration in 1989. It was strengthened in 2008 with the Clean Water Act and <br />expanded further by President Obama in 2015. <br />What is a wetland bank? <br />A wetland bank is a piece of property restored as a functioning wetland in order to maintain wetlands and their valuable <br />benefits while still allowing development. Developers can buy mitigation credits from a wetland bank, a necessary step in <br />order to receive regulatory approval for their projects. Establishing a wetland bank is a complex, multi -year, multi -faceted <br />process that not just anyone can undertake. Tallgrass has the experience and expertise to make this balance of <br />conservation and development work. <br />How are parcels critiqued for suitability? <br />Site evaluation for wetland bank suitability consists of a comprehensive layering of characteristics including: <br />• Parcel size of approximately 40-120 acres <br />• Geographic and watershed location <br />• Current and historical site conditions <br />• Current and historical surrounding land use <br />• Market supply and demand for wetland credits <br />• Market construction costs and credit sales prices <br />What is the timeline? <br />The development and implementation of a wetland bank is dependent on a number of factors including regulatory agency <br />processes and approvals. <br />• Wetland banking runs on a 7-10 year timeline <br />• Regulators assign from 0.25 to 1 credit per acre, based on the scope of the restoration <br />• Tallgrass sets the price per credit, based on project needs, regional costs, and market influences <br />• A restoration design plan will take approximately 1-2 years to develop and become approved <br />• Restoration and maintenance is then conducted on -site over multiple years <br />3250 N. Arlington Heights Road, Suite 104, Arlington Heights, IL 60004 (847) 342-8020 www.tallgrasslandconservation.com <br />