Alexandria Bay Land Port of Entry Wetland Mitigation

What was the Challenge?

Reconstruction and expansion of the U.S. Land Port of Entry at Alexandria Bay resulted in unavoidable impacts to existing federal and state jurisdictional freshwater wetlands. These impacts needed to be mitigated and the proposed mitigation plan required approval by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as part of the project’s permitting phase.

How did Barton & Loguidice provide a solution?

Barton & Loguidice worked with state and federal permitting agencies to identify a suitable location for compensatory wetland mitigation. A location for wetland creation was identified on Wellesley Island State Park, included within the same watershed as the Port-of-Entry project. Through a collaborative design process, B&L was able to include specific elements into the design to focus on target species and to provide opportunities for public enjoyment and education.

Why was the project a success?

Aside from the creation of wetland acreage to replace the acreage lost at the Port-of-Entry site, the mitigation site was enhanced and designed to provide habitat for the state-endangered Blanding’s turtle. Populations of Blanding’s turtles have been recorded at Wellesley Island State Park, so it was important to the NYSDEC to incorporate some habitat components for this species into the site design.  Basking logs and shrub species important for turtle habitat were installed and large areas of deepwater habitat were created adjacent to emergent and shrub habitats for safe turtle access. To maximize the benefits of the created wetland, an elevated boardwalk was constructed across the wetland to enable the public to access the interior of the wetland. Signage was installed to interpret the functions and values of the habitat features.