BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vision Ridge Partners, LLC (“Vision Ridge”), a preeminent investor in sustainable real assets, today announced the sale of a portfolio of mitigation banking assets in southeast Texas. Over the past 5 years, Vision Ridge partnered with The Earth Partners, an ecological restoration company that seeks to maximize environmental, social, and financial outcomes, to develop and manage the portfolio.
Mitigation banks are properties with wetland, stream, or other aquatic resources that have been restored, established, or preserved in exchange for credits. The Clean Water Act mandates that any impact to aquatic resources from permitted uses, such as development of transportation or energy infrastructure, be compensated for by purchasing credits from mitigation banks. This compensatory system enables mitigation banks to foster responsible development while restoring and maintaining rich ecosystems.
The portfolio Vision Ridge has sold includes three operational mitigation banks – Gulf Coastal Plains, Houston Conroe, and Tarkington Bayou – all of which provide environmental wetland and stream credits across the Galveston Bay region of Texas, including the greater Houston area. The portfolio, which is protected in perpetuity through conservation easements enforced by local non-profits, has restored and preserved over 2,000 acres of wetlands and 60,000 linear feet of stream waters.
“We are pleased to have overseen the permitting, construction, and operations of these banks, which play a critical role not only in the protection of our local ecosystems, but also the planet at large,” said Reuben Munger, Managing Partner of Vision Ridge. “The Earth Partners’ technical expertise and regulatory knowledge of land-based environmental assets were a tremendous value-add as we worked together to maximize the benefits of the portfolio for our investors and the environment.”
“Partnering with Vision Ridge has enabled The Earth Partners to successfully expand critical natural infrastructure in Texas while building on our work to restore large-scale ecosystems, from grasslands to forests to wetlands and streams,” added David Tepper, CEO of The Earth Partners. “We are thankful to Vision Ridge, whose commitment to the environment, flexible capital and extensive experience investing in sustainable real assets helped to elevate The Earth Partners’ position as a leader in ecosystem restoration. We look forward to continuing to manage the banks and expand the portfolio, so the banks thrive for years to come.”
Completed in 2016, Gulf Coastal Plains mitigation bank is adjacent to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, and comprised of a diverse ecosystem of freshwater marsh, shrub wetland, coastal prairie, and tidal marsh. The Houston Conroe and Tarkington Bayou mitigation banks, completed in 2019, have re-established wetland connections and restored stream channels across the San Jacinto River Basin.
ABOUT VISION RIDGE PARTNERS
Vision Ridge Partners is a preeminent investor in sustainable real assets that seeks to deliver superior financial returns while driving positive environmental impact. Founded by Reuben Munger and joined by partners Justin Goerke and George Polk, Vision Ridge manages approximately $2.5 billion, as of December 31, 2021, across its three funds and associated co-investments. Vision Ridge has offices in Colorado and New York. For more information visit https://vision-ridge.com.
ABOUT THE EARTH PARTNERS
The Earth Partners is an ecological restoration company that works to simultaneously maximize environmental, social, and financial outcomes. TEP targets and scales ecological restoration and conservation projects to improve water quality, reduce carbon emissions, create wildlife habitat, and build resiliency to the impacts of a changing climate. The TEP team has decades of experience in finance, project development, project management, policy advocacy, and commercial contracting, enabling projects to generate strong returns for its investors and the natural world. For more information visit https://theearthpartners.com/.
