Since 1975 Barr has provided environmental engineering services to the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Recent and upcoming changes in state wetland regulations are driving organizations who manage natural resources to look outside their respective districts for potential wetland replacement sites.
In 2019 the RWMWD asked Barr to conduct a wetland restoration site search to identify areas that could be established as wetland bank sites or targeted for site-specific wetland replacement. Identifying these sites ahead of time can help development project proponents meet state and watershed rules.
Our search is focused on finding opportunities with potential to achieve sustainable wetland communities. Using data from previous wetland assessments and other available desktop data, we are identifying high-priority areas within each sub-watershed where restoring degraded wetlands will help achieve watershed goals. Barr will prepare a summary of results prioritizing potential wetland restoration based on adjacent habitats or buffers and habitat connectivity, flood storage potential, habitat connectivity, potential to benefit water quality, proximity to other protected lands, groundwater sensitivity, projected land use, size and ease of restoration, and number of landowners.