The Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank is a viable compensatory mitigation alternative for wetland mitigation impacts to jurisdictional hardwood, pine flatwoods, and herbaceous wetlands. The 1,205 acre site is located in Santa Rosa County and contiguous to the Florida Forever Acquisition Area called the Garcon Ecosystem Preserve.

The Garcon Peninsula contains some of the best pitcher plant prairies remaining in Florida and the Florida Forever Garcon Ecosystem project is charged with protecting and expanding these prairies. The carnivorous white-topped pitcher plant, a state endangered plant species is located and protected within the mitigation bank. This project makes a significant contribution to the viability of the Garcon project by increasing the size of the preserve by approximately 15%.

The service area for the Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank includes land in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties, which is a portion of four watersheds. The project is located in the “Pensacola Bay” watershed and this constitutes the vast majority of the proposed service area. Also proposed are small portions of: the Escambia watershed (north of Pensacola and west of Milton); the Blackwater watershed (which will include Milton); and the Choctawhatchee Bay watershed (will include Ft. Walton Beach area).