Texas Flat Wetland & Stream Mitigation Bank

Cypress provided services for this 1,985-acre mitigation bank site from initial selection through restoration planning and construction oversight (ongoing).

Cypress completed all required natural resource studies with in-house personnel and resources. Those studies included a wetland delineation and approved Jurisdictional Determination, wetland and stream buffer habitat mapping, threatened and endangered species survey, vegetation community characterization, wetland functional assessments, Rosgen stream characterization, and full stream survey and assessment. The field studies were then incorporated into the mitigation bank instrument (MBI) as specified by USACE Mobile District, Mississippi State agencies and the IRT. The MBI was approved in 2013 and the Texas Flat Mitigation Bank became the second mitigation bank approved in coastal Mississippi with a complex stream buffer that included multiple coastal habitat types.

Cypress developed the restoration plan to bring the site from initial condition with double-height timber beds and commercial stand density to a fully restored pine savanna with intermittent and perennial streams throughout the site. Restoration is ongoing, and to date, over 80% of the impacted areas have had bed removal earthwork completed. Low-water crossings have been installed across the site to restore natural hydrology while still allowing for restoration and other earthwork efforts to continue. Monitoring is performed on-site to assess the impact of restoration efforts and analyze the quality of habitat on-site.