Hard Labor Creek Mitigation Bank

The Hard Labor Creek Mitigation Bank (HLCMB) is situated on a 295-acre tract in Morgan County, Georgia, just northwest of the town of Madison. Encompassing approximately 139 acres of this site, the bank includes Hard Labor Creek, four unnamed tributaries, and their surrounding riparian zones.

The HLCMB consists of five streams and their adjacent riparian buffers, all of which have been adversely affected by historical land-use practices. The primary goal of the mitigation bank is to restore the natural hydrologic and sediment regimes and native vegetative composition of these degraded stream and buffer systems.

To ensure ecological success, the project has been evaluated against a set of performance standards. These standards address key criteria such as geomorphic stability, water quality, nutrient retention, the density of preferred plant species, and the growth performance of planted native vegetation.