--- title: Dirty Boots II | Conservation Mitigation Easement | Unique Places to Save description: Permanent conservation of Dirty Boots Mitigation Site ensures protection of streams and wetlands, enhancing ecological integrity in North Carolina's Cape Fear River Basin. image: https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/dirty%20boots%20conservation%20easement%20north%20carolina.png --- [![Unique Places to Save logo](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/logo%20horizontal-1.png?width=1254&height=380&name=logo%20horizontal-1.png "Unique Places to Save logo")](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/) - [PROJECTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/projects) - SERVICES - [FOR MITIGATION BANKERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/conservation-mitigation) - [FOR LAND MANAGERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/land-planners-managers) - [FOR LANDOWNERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/conservation-for-landowners) - [FOR RESTORATION PARTNERS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/dam-removals) - ABOUT - [OUR GOALS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/our-goals) - [OUR VALUES](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/our-values) - [OUR TEAM](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/team) - [CONTACT US](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/contact) - UPDATES - [CONSERVATION EASEMENTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-easements) - [MITIGATION BANKING](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking) - [WORKING LANDS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/working-lands) - [RIVERS, WETLANDS & DAMS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/rivers-wetlands-dams) - [CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-and-development) - [CONSERVATION STORIES](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/conservation-stories) - [ORGANIZATION NEWS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/organization-news) - [ALL POSTS](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news) [Donate](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/wetland-keepers) [Donate](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/wetland-keepers) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ![A small stream running through a leaf covered gully in bare winter woodland.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/dirty%20boots%20conservation%20easement%20north%20carolina.png) # Dirty Boots II | Conservation Mitigation Easement Michael Scisco - January 2026 ![](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/unique-places-theme/images/sep-1-0.png) ### Total Acres 9.7 ### Project Year 2025   ##### Located in Chatham County North Carolina [![](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/con%20res%20hab%20badge.png?width=240&height=241&name=con%20res%20hab%20badge.png)](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/our-values#badge)The Dirty Boots Phase II Mitigation Site is permanently conserved through a recorded conservation easement held by Unique Places to Save, securing long-term protection for streams, wetlands, and associated riparian corridors within the Cape Fear River Basin. This perpetual protection ensures that restored aquatic resources are shielded from future development, agricultural conversion, and other incompatible land uses. The easement encompasses restored, enhanced, and preserved reaches of Dirty Boots Creek and an unnamed tributary, locking in channel stability, floodplain access, and instream habitat improvements achieved through mitigation activities. By maintaining these conditions in perpetuity, the project supports sustained reductions in erosion and pollutant loading while preserving functional connections between streams and their surrounding landscapes. Floodplain wetlands within the protected area are permanently conserved and restored to support natural hydrologic regimes and native plant communities. Long-term exclusion of livestock, control of invasive species, and reforestation of riparian areas allow wetland systems to function as resilient features for water storage, nutrient processing, and wildlife habitat. Through permanent conservation under a conservation easement held by Unique Places to Save, the Dirty Boots Phase II Mitigation Site provides enduring ecological value and watershed-scale benefits, ensuring that the investments in stream and wetland restoration continue to serve the Cape Fear River Basin well into the future.   ##### Mitigation Partner [![Wildlands Engineering logo](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/chub_backup/wildlands%20engineering.png?width=230&height=97&name=wildlands%20engineering.png)](https://www.wildlandseng.com/) Our Role ### Conservation Easement Grantee Mitigation Type ### Stream & Wetland Restoration   About the Author![Michael Scisco](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hs-fs/hubfs/michael%20scisco.jpg?width=208&height=208&name=michael%20scisco.jpg) Michael brings nearly 20 years of experience to his role as Trusted Conservation Advisor at Unique Places to Save. He has worked to conserve over 200,000 acres across the U.S. while securing over $200M in funding and transacting $500M in land and other real estate. [Learn More](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/michael-scisco-conservation-expert) #### We are a trusted non-profit partner for mitigation banks seeking high-quality conservation projects   [Learn More](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/conservation-mitigation) ![Blackberries ripening on a bramble at the edge of a young pine forest.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/photo%20of%20poes%20landing%20conservation%20easement.jpg) [Mitigation Banking](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking), [North Carolina](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/north-carolina), [Projects](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/projects) Michael Scisco, October 2026 ### [Poe's Landing | Conservation Mitigation Easement](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/poes-landing-conservation-mitigation-easement) Total Acres 321 Project Year 2026 Located in York County, South Carolina Covering approximately 320.69 acres within the Upper Broad River Basin, the easement safeguards critical aquatic corridors including Bullock Creek, Bells Creek, 11 unn... ![A slow stream winds through an open wetland meadow lined with cattails and shrubs, with a band of trees on the horizon under a golden evening sky.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/image%20of%20wetlands%20conservation.jpg) [Mitigation Banking](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking), [North Carolina](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/north-carolina), [Projects](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/projects) Michael Scisco, September 2026 ### [What Happens After a Mitigation Bank is Complete?](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/mitigation-bank-long-term-management) Regulatory closeout is a major milestone for a mitigation bank. It confirms that the required restoration or enhancement work has been completed, performance standards have been met, and the formal monitoring and maintenance period can end.... ![Pink survey flagging tied to shrubs along a marsh-lined creek on the Point Farm conservation easement, with a weathered stump standing in the still water.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/point%20farm%20conservation%20mitigation%20easement.jpg) [Mitigation Banking](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking), [North Carolina](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/north-carolina), [Projects](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/projects) Mandi Taylor, September 2026 ### [The Impossibility of Capturing Nature in a PDF](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/baseline-documentation-report) Every profession has the gap between what the job looks like on paper and what actually happens on the ground. In land conservation, that divide can be neatly summarized by one specific, legal document: the Baseline Documentation Report (BD... ![Mandi Taylor smiling beside a tree in bare winter woods, wearing a cap and a daypack, with pine needles covering the slope behind her.](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/hubfs/mandi%20in%20the%20field.jpg) [Mitigation Banking](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/mitigation-banking), [North Carolina](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/north-carolina), [Projects](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/tag/projects) Mandi Taylor, September 2026 ### [Behind the Scenes of Land Stewardship](https://uniqueplacestosave.org/news/what-does-a-land-steward-do) When people think of land conservation wins, they usually picture all the work and coordination required to place land with rich ecological, historical, or cultural value into a conservation easement. And they are right to celebrate those e... 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