RES developed a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and wetland mitigation plan for Heidelberg Materials (HM) to address the impacts from the expansion of their surface mining operations in Romeoville, IL. This project marked the first full HCP approved by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Chicago Field Office. It is also one of the largest wetland mitigation projects approved by the Chicago Office of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

The plan preserves 531 acres and restores and enhances more than 350 of those acres as part of mitigation for impacts to wetlands (31 acres), Federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly habitat, and State endangered Blanding’s and Spotted turtle habitat. Our team secured a permit from the USFWS in late 2021 from the USACE and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) in early 2022 and began implementation of the restoration plan in late winter of 2022. A key feature of the plan is to transplant a rare, six-acre WMDP from a mining area to a mitigation parcel across the Des Plaines River, which was completed this winter (2024) with our earth-moving sub-contractor, Thornton Equipment.

Project Highlights

• Preserves 531 acres of habitat and buffer
• Restores or enhances 350 acres of wetlands and habitat
• Mitigates 31 acres of wetland impacts
• Mitigates 50 acres of habitat impacts for the Federally endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly
• Mitigates 29 acres of habitat impacts for the State endangered Blanding’s and Spotted Turtles
• Transplanted a rare, 6-acre wet-mesic dolomite prairie
• Allows Heidelberg Materials to continue their mining operations at their Romeoville, IL facility

Project News

https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Media/Media-Releases/Article/3694526/usace-chicago-district-continues-to-monitor-transplant-of-rare-wetland-ecosyste/