Once again the Environmental Law Institute has provided invaluable data and insight on mitigation.  In their latest report; Mitigation of Impacts to Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Estimating Costs and Identifying Opportunities, ELI examines compensatory mitigation programs at the federal level, and how they may benefit by combining planning efforts with State Wildlife Action Plans.  Each of the fifty states has developed a State Wildlife Action Plan required under federal legislation established by the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program and State Wildlife Grants Program. The goal of these programs is to "map out ways to conserve fish and wildlife before they become more rare and too costly to protect. The plans provide scientific data and identify priorities for conserving fish and wildlife habitat – information that potentially could be used to direct the allocation of compensatory mitigation funds from other programs."

Using available data the ELI estimates, for the first time, an annualized dollar amount of damages to fish and wildlife habitats and the environment captured under the major federal compensatory mitigation programs.  The report finds that $3.8 billion are expended annually through federal compensatory mitigation programs.

The report also "highlights opportunities that may exist to use the fifty State Wildlife Action Plans to direct these compensatory mitigation funds in a manner that could support state, regional, or local conservation objectives;" helping to conserve biodiversity, fish and wildlife species for the future.

To view the report in its entirety go to the ELI website.