Mitigation site · Wayne County, North Carolina
A 26.9-acre riparian buffer restoration on four tributaries to Thoroughfare Swamp that RestorEcology is delivering under contract to the NC Division of Mitigation Services.
RestorEcology has contracted with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Mitigation Services (DMS) to deliver a 26.9-acre riparian buffer restoration project about 8 miles southwest of Goldsboro, in Wayne County. The site takes in four tributaries, an ephemeral reach and a ditch that all drain to Thoroughfare Swamp.
The land has been farmed for more than 85 years, most recently in hay and a rotation of sweet potatoes, corn and soybeans, with crops worked right up to the edge of the wooded stream corridors. About 15.4 acres of that farmland will be planted with native hardwoods such as river birch, tulip-tree and oaks, and 10.1 acres of existing wooded buffer will be preserved and protected. Planting is targeted for the 2027–28 dormant season.
DMS identifies parts of this watershed as priority areas for water quality and hydrology, and the site sits inside both. Taking these fields out of production is estimated to keep about 161 pounds of nitrogen and 282 pounds of phosphorus a year out of Thoroughfare Swamp and the Neuse River downstream.
The site will be protected permanently by a conservation easement held by the State of North Carolina. After planting, RestorEcology will monitor the new forest for five years, tracking tree survival and growth in 13 permanent vegetation plots until it meets the state’s performance standards.
This is a full-delivery project: RestorEcology designs, permits, plants, monitors and protects the site, and the resulting riparian buffer credits go to DMS for its in-lieu fee program in the Neuse River Basin (HUC 03020201, excluding the Falls Lake watershed). RestorEcology does not sell credits from Heritage directly.
Heritage is our third full-delivery project for DMS, alongside Edwards Branch and Jacks Bluff, and our sixth restoration project in the Neuse River basin.
If you need Neuse buffer or nitrogen credits for a permit, our privately held sites nearby have credits available now:
More in this watershed
Neuse River · Wayne County, NC · 11 acres
11 acres of former cropland along two Brooks Swamp tributaries, planted with native hardwoods in 2024. Nitrogen and Neuse buffer credits available now.
Neuse River · Wayne County, NC · 35 acres
35 acres on Edwards Branch and four tributary streams near Goldsboro. Existing wooded buffers preserved, cropland planted in native hardwoods. Nitrogen and buffer credits available.
Neuse River · Wayne County, NC · 33 acres
33 acres on Horse Branch and a tributary near Grantham. Hardwood swamp preserved, cropland planted with native hardwoods. Nitrogen and Neuse buffer credits available.
Neuse River · Wayne County, NC · 35.4 acres
35.4-acre full-delivery project for the NC Division of Mitigation Services on Edwards Branch near Grantham. About 15,000 native hardwoods to be planted in the 2026–27 dormant season.
Neuse River · Wayne County, NC · 14.3 acres
14.3-acre full-delivery project for the NC Division of Mitigation Services on the Neuse River near Goldsboro. About 11.5 acres of cropland to be planted in native hardwoods in winter 2027–28.
Send us your project location, credit type and quantity. We reply by email with pricing and availability.