union pacific
gasconade
mitigation site
Gasconade County, Missouri
Swallowtail created a 16.5-acre wetland and stream mitigation site for the Union Pacific Railroad company in mid-Missouri to compensate for impacts associated with work on a railroad line. Providing the complete mitigation package, Swallowtail located and purchased the land, handled the conservation easement, and monitored the site until it was signed off as fully successful.
The valley that contains the mitigation site once was home to a much larger stream. Although that channel migrated to a neighboring valley long ago, its actions left behind a broad, flat area surrounded by a crescent-shaped Ozark hillside that is well-suited for wetland and stream mitigation.
Swallowtail built small berms along and adjacent to the existing channel that drains the valley to simulate the beaver dams that would have been prevalent in this area long ago. This spread out the stream's flow over a large area where substantial microtopography was established. The result is a stunning amount of hydrological and botanical diversity. The habitats present include swampy areas dominated by green ash, open marsh, small pools surrounded by willows, and a very diverse hardwood young forested wetland.
Because this property was such an obvious conservation opportunity, Swallowtail built their Gasconade River Wetland and Stream Mitigation Bank adjacent to this mitigation site. The result is more than 150 acres of contiguous wildlife habitat managed as one unit.