| This research presents findings on the experiences of wetland mitigation bank managers in the United States. Data were collected and analyzed for a project supported, in part, by a Disciplinary Research Grant from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. During summer and fall of 2003, primary data were collected using semi-structured interviews with wetland bank managers responsible for 59 percent of the nation's mitigation banks. A stratified, random sample of potential participants was drawn from 380 wetland mitigation banks. After receiving a pre-notification letter from the researcher, the managers were contacted by the researcher by phone to arrange the interviews. Altogether, 140 interviews were undertaken with mangers responsible for about 250 established or proposed mitigation banks. The semi-structured interviews each took about one-half hour to complete, followed a specially prepared script, used qualitative interviewing protocols, were audio recorded, and were subsequently transcribed. The 140 interviews resulted in more than 1800 pages of transcripts which were sorted and coded by the researcher using iterative data analysis methods including ATLAS.ti software. The result of this analysis is a rich profile of the nation's wetland mitigation bank managers and their banks; manager's backgrounds and professional history and bank information on ecological types, service areas, and credit determination. The study also examined wetland bankers' ideas about keys for success, major obstacles, agency support and possible changes within the banking industry. |
