Mesa County announced it is accepting bids for a wetlands-restoration project in the Clifton area near the Colorado River. The county owns a four-acre parcel that it will use as a wetlands-mitigation bank to offset some of the costs of building and repairing roads and bridges.

The estimated cost of the project is $1 million.

“When Mesa County builds roads and bridges, we end up impacting wetlands that have to be mitigated through the Army Corps (of Engineers),” said Carrie Slubowski, regulatory programs manager for Mesa County.

According to a county news release, when land is developed it may impact wetlands and other ecologically important areas. That’s offset by the purchase of credits or building a mitigation site somewhere else to make up for the impacted area. By building and owning this mitigation site between the River Trail and the Colorado River off 30 Road and C 1/2 Road, which currently is a dried-up pond that once was part of a gravel-pit operation, the county can use it as a bank and won’t have to buy credits for future projects.

When the project is finished, the site will be restored to a wetland and riparian habitat with water naturally flowing in and out from the river, the news release said. Different layers of native vegetation will support birds and other wildlife. A walking path will be added connecting the site to the River Trail.

The project is out to bid, and work is expected to start this winter. By spring, new vegetation will be planted at the site. The River Trail will stay open during construction, but there will be some truck traffic across it as materials are moved in and out of the area.