The Ohio Wetlands Foundation, a non-profit (501(c)(3)) organization, was formed in 1992 in response to the regulated community's need to have a high quality offsite wetlands mitigation alternative.  The mission of the Ohio Wetlands Foundation is to provide the highest quality offsite wetlands mitigation alternatives in Ohio by means of restoring, enhancing and protecting wetlands.  The funds received by the Foundation for mitigation purposes are used for the acquisition of property; for the design, construction and maintenance of wetlands; for the construction of trails and interpretive signage at its sites; for the education of the public regarding wetlands functions; and the funding of research on wetlands.

The Foundation's development of compensatory wetland mitigation credits follows the guidelines developed by a federal interagency task force and published in the federal register in 1995 by the Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency.   Any entity wishing to use off-site compensatory mitigation must follow the rules and laws governing wetland impacts and must obtain a permit from the Army Corp of Engineers and/or the Ohio EPA.

The Ohio Wetlands Foundation was the first banker in the country to construct a wetlands mitigation bank and to complete the required five year monitoring period.  The Ohio Wetlands Foundation has sold all of its credits in its first three banks representing approximately 500 acres of wetland restoration at three different locations:  Hebron, Big Island, and Sandy Ridge. 

Credits are currently available at two different wetlands mitigation banks: Little Scioto and Trumbull Creek.   The Ohio Wetlands Foundation is near approval of two other wetland mitigation banks: Pine Brook in Geauga County and Pearson Metro Park in Lucas County. In addition to mitigation banks, the Foundation also has three active consolidated wetlands mitigation projects located in the Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Huntington Army Corps of Engineers Districts.  The Foundation also works with clients throughout Ohio to identify suitable off site mitigation alternatives for wetlands and stream impacts that occur where a mitigation bank is not available or its use is inappropriate.