Defenders of Wildlife and CleanWater Services teamed up with the northwest and national associations of zoos and aquariums and Three Rivers Land Conservancy to launch the first project of the Marketplace for Nature. The project is Bronson Creek, a charming little forested site with a creek, nestled in between densely developed subdivisions and a large regional park outside of Portland, Oregon. The site is privately owned, but some riparian restoration has been done by Clean Water Services to help reduce water temperature. A conservation easement on the property is held by Three Rivers Land Conservancy. Attendees at the national conference of zoos and aquariums were offered the option of helping to ‘offset” the ecological footprint of the conference by contributing to the restoration of Bronson Creek. 
The site provides several ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, water quality, and wildlife habitat. Over 20 percent of the registrants contributed, raised about $2300, and offset about 15 percent of the carbon emissions associated with travel to the conference. The Registry will soon have a special Marketplace for Nature portal for projects that have ecosystem service credits for sale. In the meantime, check out the Bronson Creek project. Next year, the zoo and aquarium conference will be in Houston, Texas where sponsors will try to increase the level of participation in the program to outclass Oregon.
Cheers, Sara
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