The Earth Partners Acquires a Portfolio of Mitigation Banks in Texas

Harris County, TX, March 17, 2017 (Newswire.com) - WRA, Inc. (WRA) and Conservation Investment Management, LLC (CIM) congratulate The Earth Partners LP (TEP) on their acquisition of a portfolio of stream and wetland mitigation banks from Ecosystem Renewal. The bank properties represent an opportunity to protect over 3,300 acres of freshwater and tidal wetlands that provide critical habitat to waterfowl and other aquatic species. The mitigation credits generated by these banks will be sold to developers to mitigate the environmental impacts of residential and infrastructure development in the greater Houston area. CIM helped TEP identify a target that would fit their sustainable land management strategy and advised them during the transaction. WRA worked closely with TEP to conduct the technical and market due diligence of the acquisition.

“Conservation finance, and in particular mitigation banking, is a quickly expanding field that offers opportunities for investors to generate great risk-adjusted returns that are mainly uncorrelated from other asset classes while also having a positive environmental impact,” said Ben Guillon, Chief Executive Officer of CIM and Chief Investment Officer at WRA. “CIM and WRA are proud to offer investors and landowners a turn-key solution that allows them to unlock these new markets.”

"With the acquisition of this portfolio, TEP is demonstrating its commitment to the mitigation banking industry," said David Tepper, Chief Executive Officer at TEP. "Working with technical specialists at WRA and CIM complements our team."

David Tepper, Chief Executive Officer at TEP

In the coming year, TEP is looking to further expand its portfolio of banks in opportunistic regions across the United States, eager to identify new development and acquire existing portfolios with strategic partners.  

Company Profiles

WRA, Inc. (WRA) offers professional consulting services in plant, wildlife, and wetland ecology, regulatory compliance, mitigation banking, environmental planning, GIS, and landscape architecture. WRA is a leader in wetland mitigation and species conservation banking in the western United State. The company offers a unique blend of multidisciplinary professionals supports clients with the right expertise to fully capture land’s ecosystem services value. www.wra-ca.com

Conservation Investment Management, LLC (CIM) is an investment advisory company focused on conservation finance based in Denver, Colorado. CIM works with landowners, foundations, family offices, and endowments to craft and implement innovative real asset investment strategies that result in both profits and positive environmental impacts. CIM’s team is composed of financial analysts and of technical specialists that have extensive knowledge of these new markets such as mitigation and conservation banking, water or carbon. www.conservationinvestment.com

The Earth Partners LP (TEP) is a land restoration company developing market-driven solutions to rebuild soils, water resources, habitat, carbon, and other critical ecosystem functions. TEP has been active in Texas since 2010 to restore working rangeland and native grasslands, enrolling hundreds of thousands of acres in invasive brush management programs to supply bioenergy markets. In 2016, TEP launched a mitigation banking division, expanding its Texas-based land restoration practices to wetlands and streams. The first bank portfolio acquisition, in partnership with Ecosystem Renewal, includes Gulf Coastal Plains Mitigation Bank, soon to be one of the top 10 largest wetland mitigation banks in Texas. TEP’s mitigation banking division continues to quickly expand, acquiring distressed and opportunistic mitigation banks in Texas and throughout United States. www.theearthpartners.com

Media Contact:    

Ben Guillon                     

WRA, Inc.

(303) 416-1501

guillon@wra-ca.com                  

Source: The Earth Partners