The Georgia team of Trey Evans and Matt Peevy at Mitigation Management in Atlanta have done a bang-up job here compiling data from the Regional Internet Bank Tracking System (RIBITS) which I have posted on Scribd below. RIBITS was introduced a few years ago by the Corps of Engineers and is a (nearly) universal tool for Corps Districts to service their customers by providing up-to-date information on the availability and location of mitigation banks, along with monitoring data and permitting documents.

What a great tool.

But unlike our Peach State buddies, Tar Heels or anyone else interested in mitigation in North Carolina cannot use RIBITS to analyze and plan mitigation bank sites, or credit purchases therefrom. Unlike nearly every other District in the nation, the Wilmington District comes up completely blank for RIBITS data: Nothing. Nada. Goose. Egg.

The Wilmington District chose long ago to put all their policy eggs in one basket, trusting the NC state fee program to accomplish all the mitigation properly and in a timely manner. But in our mind this should not relieve the District of the “good government” obligation to join the dozens of other Districts who have seen fit to include themselves in the RIBITS database.

A nationwide or even regional data set is only as good as its weakest link. With Wilmington not participating in this innovative program, it becomes impossible to make nationwide market conclusions with accuracy, and leaves North Carolina a hole in the data doughnut.

What a shame.

Mitigation Management National Market Estimates 4th Quarter 2010