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LEED v4
Existing Hospitality
Sustainable Sites
Site Development- protect or restore habitat

LEED CREDIT

Hospitality-EBOM-v4 SSc1: Site development - protect or restore habitat 1-2 points

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SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser expert

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Trista Little

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser’s viewpoint

Frank advice from LEED experts

LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.

Credit language

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Intent

To conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

Requirements

Option 1. On-Site Restoration (2 points)

Establishment

Have in place native or adapted vegetation on 20% of the total site area (including the building footprint), a minimum of 5,000 square feet (465 square meters), to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

Performance

None.

OR

Option 2. Financial support (1 point)

Establishment

Provide financial support equivalent to at least $0.05 per square foot (US$0.50 per square meter) for the total site area (including the building footprint). Financial support must be provided annually to a nationally or locally recognized land trust or conservation organization within the same EPA Level III ecoregion or the project’s state (or within 100 miles [160 kilometers] for projects outside the U.S.). For U.S. projects, the land trust must be accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.

Performance

Provide the specified financial support annually.
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path Available

This credit has a pilot ACP available in the LEED Pilot Credit Library. See Site development - protect or restore habitat - alternative compliance path for more information.

See all forum discussions about this credit »

What does it cost?

Cost estimates for this credit

On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.

Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.

This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.

Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »

Frequently asked questions

The land trust we contacted wants to use our contribution to construct an educational building. Is this ok?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)
See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

7/1/2015 – Updated: 7/1/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Edit the guidance to read:
"Group Approach
All buildings in the group may be documented as one.
Campus Approach
Option 1: Eligible.
Option 2: Ineligible. Each LEED project may pursue the credit individually."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
4/1/2015 – Updated: 4/1/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In BD+C, add the following text to the end of the section. In EBOM, add a new bullet point:
"Select plants that provide habitat and promote biodiversity. When specifying adapted vegetation, choose cultivars of native vegetation that are not considered invasive plants or noxious weeds, and that grow reliably well in the project’s locality with minimal maintenance, winter protection, pest protection, irrigation, and fertilization."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/1/2014 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the definition of "native vegetation" with the following:
"a species that originates in, and is characteristic of, a particular region and ecosystem without direct or indirect human actions. Native species have evolved together with other species within the geography, hydrology, and climate of that region."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

Documentation toolkit

The motherlode of cheat sheets

LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Trista Little

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

Get the inside scoop

Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Intent

To conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

Requirements

Option 1. On-Site Restoration (2 points)

Establishment

Have in place native or adapted vegetation on 20% of the total site area (including the building footprint), a minimum of 5,000 square feet (465 square meters), to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.

Performance

None.

OR

Option 2. Financial support (1 point)

Establishment

Provide financial support equivalent to at least $0.05 per square foot (US$0.50 per square meter) for the total site area (including the building footprint). Financial support must be provided annually to a nationally or locally recognized land trust or conservation organization within the same EPA Level III ecoregion or the project’s state (or within 100 miles [160 kilometers] for projects outside the U.S.). For U.S. projects, the land trust must be accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.

Performance

Provide the specified financial support annually.
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path Available

This credit has a pilot ACP available in the LEED Pilot Credit Library. See Site development - protect or restore habitat - alternative compliance path for more information.

Cost estimates for this credit

On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.

Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.

This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.

Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

The land trust we contacted wants to use our contribution to construct an educational building. Is this ok?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

(If you're already a premium member, log in here.)
7/1/2015 – Updated: 7/1/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Edit the guidance to read:
"Group Approach
All buildings in the group may be documented as one.
Campus Approach
Option 1: Eligible.
Option 2: Ineligible. Each LEED project may pursue the credit individually."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
4/1/2015 – Updated: 4/1/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In BD+C, add the following text to the end of the section. In EBOM, add a new bullet point:
"Select plants that provide habitat and promote biodiversity. When specifying adapted vegetation, choose cultivars of native vegetation that are not considered invasive plants or noxious weeds, and that grow reliably well in the project’s locality with minimal maintenance, winter protection, pest protection, irrigation, and fertilization."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/1/2014 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace the definition of "native vegetation" with the following:
"a species that originates in, and is characteristic of, a particular region and ecosystem without direct or indirect human actions. Native species have evolved together with other species within the geography, hydrology, and climate of that region."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Trista Little

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Hospitality-EBOM-v4 SSc1