15.664, Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance Programs

This funding opportunity will provide support to develop a wetland credit-debit methodology for the Wetland Ecosystem Services Protocol for Interior Alaska (WESPAK-INT). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) uses wetland credits and debits when considering compensatory mitigation for unavoidable wetland losses caused by projects in wetlands, and for the credits generated by wetland mitigation banks and in-lieu fee programs. Compensatory wetland mitigation is poorly developed in Alaska ¿ putting the Service at a disadvantage when making wetland mitigation recommendations. The proposed credit-debit methodology, developed with input from stakeholders and the Corps, will substantially improve the wetland mitigation process for Interior Alaska.