Designated as a “Group A Project” for acquisition and restoration on the 2008 Florida Forever Priority List, St. Marks Mitigation Bank is an ecological diamond in the rough that Westervelt Ecological Services intends to restore to its primitive Florida splendor. This 1450-acre wetland site straddles the Jefferson and Wakulla County lines in an ideal location adjacent to a vast assemblage of conservation lands alongside the St. Marks and Aucilla River drainages.

This bank will serve as viable compensatory mitigation for projects which impact flatwood, prairie, and hardwood wetlands. Substantial portions of the mitigation bank site include areas identified as potential rare species habitat. Specifically documented plant and animal occurrences within a 6-mile radius of the proposed bank include: Florida Black Bear, Suwannee Cooter, Alligator Snapping Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Bald Eagle, One-toed Amphiuma, Eastern Indigo Snake, White-flowered Wild Petunia, Incised Groove-bur, Chapman’s Sedge, Curtiss’ Sandgrass, Corkwood, Beaked Spikerush, Godfrey’s Spiderlily, and Thorne’s Beakrush.

In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently listed the area as critical habitat for the flatwoods salamander. Several areas of known breeding ponds or observed adults have been documented within a 5-mile radius of the proposed bank location.

St. Marks Mitigation Bank will provide successful mitigation and conservation options to a region currently under-served. Located in the St. Marks River Basin, the vast majority of its proposed service area includes portions of Wakulla, Jefferson, and Leon Counties.