Receive information about the Carolina Heelsplitter habitat protection ordinance and consider changes to the Ordinance and program.

The Carolina Heelsplitter is an endangered species whose habitat in Lancaster County is protected under US Fish & Wildlife regulations.  The heelsplitter population has been impacted by poor water quality and habitat conditions, as well as deforestation in the watersheds that abut the habitat.

In 2006, a discovery of new populations of heelsplitters in the Six Mile Creek drainage basin, Lancaster County prompted action from US Fish & Wildlife to protect these habitats.  Subsequent work by developers to achieve approval from US Fish & Wildlife led to long delays in the development process. 

To avoid delays and stay within Federal regulations for endangered species, Lancaster County adopted a protective ordinance for the heelsplitter that requires mitigation for projects and worked with the US Fish & Wildlife’s Charleston office for two years on an aquatic species conservation bank that would satisfy US Fish & Wildlife.

The result of the two-year process between Lancaster County and US Fish and Wildlife’s Charleston office was a conservation bank to help protect the heelsplitter from development impacts in their habitat.  Ordinance #901 (adopted April 28, 2008) required mitigation for projects within the Six Mile Creek watershed, and Ordinance #963 provided further restrictions in 2011.

The mitigation was achieved by project work done through US Fish & Wildlife.  The project included purchasing land and/or land rights along Six Mile Creek where heelsplitters were found or areas that were suitable for new heelsplitter habitats; funding a nursery to breed new heelsplitters before relocating them to the creek; and monitoring the progress, growth, and health of the heelsplitter population.  The project was paid for by developers in the area via “heelsplitter credits,” which essentially were a portion of the project cost based on the predicted impact to the Six Mile Creek watershed in the heelsplitter habitat areas.

The project needed funding prior to the purchase of credits, so the credits were secured by a conservation bank that was tied to financial markets.  The Environmental Banc and Exchange (EBX) was the first financial body to manage the project credits; in 2014, EBX was acquired by Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), who currently manages the bank credits.

 Initial purchases of the credits were slow, but picked up in 2016.  Phase 1 of the project was successfully completed in 2017 (388 credits), and Phase 2 was installed in early 2018 (573 credits).  Sales were steady from 2018 – early 2020, then recovered in 2022.

In June 2023 the staff received word from a developer that the County was close to running out of credits.  This was our first indication of the situation.  Within a week, we were told that there were no credits left.

The presentation will highlight potential scenarios or options to continue to heelsplitter habitat protection, but possibly through administration by Lancaster County.

The heelsplitter habitat protection ordinance has a cost impact to area developers, depending on the amount of acres and impact to the watershed that they are wanting to develop.

Proposed changes to the heelsplitter habitat protection ordinance may have an impact on the current costs of obtaining the credits for the habitat protection.

This item is for information only for Council and citizens.