A new concept in wetland mitigation has become a reality in Overland Park, Kansas, where the state’s first “wetland bank,” a 50-acre manmade wetland area, is providing developers with a “bank” from which they can buy credits to replace wetlands destroyed by development in other areas of Johnson County. The project was spearheaded by Johnson County, Kansas, businessman Clay Blair, in association with GBA. The bank, which borders the Blue River in an area adjacent to The Wilderness Valley residential development, was the first of its kind permitted in Kansas. The wetland bank is also an amenity for The Wilderness, a 460-acre residential community, creating a “wildlife refuge” that encompasses trails, boardwalks, open water, marshes, and prairie grasses.
GBA provided engineering and environmental services for the wetland bank. The bank should be completed in eight to 10 years, when developers plan to turn it over to a government agency for recreational and educational purposes.
