Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish President, announced today, the opening of the Cane Bayou Mitigation Bank, and conservation project; the first of its kind in St. Tammany Parish. A culmination of over five years of work has resulted in roughly 1,200 acres of tree-populated land which will be preserved, and a portion utilized, for wetlands mitigation by St. Tammany Parish Government. Wetlands mitigation credits, required by federal law when natural resources are disrupted through developmental impacts, were previously purchased from out-of-state companies at a much higher cost. St. Tammany Parish Government will fund the bank out of capital project funds in the amount of $6,000 per credit, as opposed to market value which can range up $22,000 per credit.