This 125-acre project, conceived and developed by Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), was the second private wetlands bank approved in Virginia and the first mitigation bank approved to sell stream credits in Virginia (WSSI’s Julie J. Metz Wetlands Bank was the first private wetlands bank in Virginia, and we later developed Virginia’s first dedicated stream bank, the Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank).
The Challenge
Changes to federal and state policies created a need for mitigation banks, where impacts to wetlands and streams could be offset by ecosystem restoration in the same watershed. WSSI saw an opportunity to continue leading the way in ecosystem restoration to create the second wetland mitigation bank in Virginia.
The Solution
North Fork’s innovative design elements provide wetlands with high functions and values that were used by developers and governmental agencies to offset unavoidable wetland impacts in nearby projects. The bank’s 125 acres consist of approximately 80 acres of constructed wetlands and waters accompanied by reforested upland buffers. The site was donated to the Boy Scouts of America upon its completion and has been incorporated into the Boy Scout’s Camp Snyder, offering nature trails, board walks, and interpretative facilities for environmental education programs. Construction began in June 1998 and was completed in July 2000.
North Fork’s unique design features include:
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An impounded area consisting of 45 acres of wetlands (formed by a 1,600 linear feet long, 25 feet tall dam designed for the Probable Maximum Flood event with 2 feet of free board in an +800 acre watershed);
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Numerous vernal pools (made by creating low areas and lining them with clay) to serve as resting spots for migrating birds and refuges and reproducing areas for amphibians;
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A seven acre open water area providing canoeing opportunities for the Boy Scouts; and
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Extensive areas that provide a progression of high quality habitat for submerged aquatic vegetation, floating aquatics, emergent, scrub shrub, and forested wetlands, and buffered reforestation areas.
Project Facts
- Owner
Camp William B. Snyder, Boy Scouts of America - Location
Prince William County, VA - Size
125 acres
Markets
Services
- Site Restoration
- Invasive Species Management
- Ecosystem
- Wetland Restoration
- GIS and Mapping
- Mitigation Banking
- Environmental Studies
- Wetland Delineation
- Threatened & Endangered Species
- Permitting
- Wetland Permitting
- Engineering and Survey
- Wetland Mitigation
- Survey
- Mitigation and Restoration
- Mapping and Technology