We often hear the refrain about jobs versus the environment. We are conditioned to believe one must choose between the two. The reality is, this is not an either-or situation but rather a partnership of jobs and the environment.

A recent study by Heidi Garrett-Peltier and Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts Political Economy and Research Institute, "How Infrastructure Investments Support the U.S. Economy: Employment, Productivity and Growth" states that restoration generates the 39.7 jobs for every $1 million invested. This is twice that of crop agriculture, construction/infrastructure and coal mining. By time one looks at the multipliers, restoration delivers three times the economic impact.

A few years ago Storm Cunningham, author of the book The Restoration Economy divided the US economy into three sections --- restoration, conservation/maintenance and new development. What Storm discovered was that the restoration sector was the largest component and soon to be bigger than both conservation/maintenance and new development put together.

Locally, Brad Gable of Bluemont has set up an umbrella mitigation bank called Rock Hedge (www.rockhedge.net). While Brad has incorporated these mitigation practices on his farm, other landowners in the area are invited to join. The act of installing buffers strips along streams creates tradable and transferrable credits. While stream credits are denominated in linear feet, wetland credits are denominated in acres. Buyers of these credits are usually infrastructure projects like expansion of a runway for Dulles Airport.

Rock Hedge currently has 6 acres of wetlands credits and nearly 11,000 linear feet of stream credits available.

A wetland credit in Northern Virginia area can fetch for up to $100,000 per acre while stream credits can go for $600 per linear foot. Talk about cash for conservation. At the end of the day, these acts of restoration also deliver enhanced water quality and improved ecosystems. The investment by the landowner to generate the credit generates jobs for soil scientists, equipment operators, engineers, planters and foresters.

Because restoration is capital intensive, a regional firm called Restore Capital (www.restorecapital.com) is helping landowners finance projects by providing debt tied to the buyer purchasing the ecosystem credits.

Restore Capital's mission is to "enhance the economics and environment of our working lands and waters." Working lands comprise of most of the United States. In fact, three-fourths of the nearly 2.3 billion acres in United States are working farms, forests and rangelands.

Bridging the gap between conservation and agriculture, a new breed of landowner is intelligently incorporating both conservation and agriculture on the same tract of land. Recognizing it makes sense for the land and the wallet, landowners are tapping into these ecological markets to deliver greater value.

With groups like Rock Hedge and Restore Capital, land and money are touching in new ways, creating jobs and a cleaner environment. In a polarized world, we need examples of balance coupled with the belief we can reinvent ourselves by building equity back into our land and community.