"Ecosystem Marketplace," a publication focused on "markets and payment schemes for ecosystem services; services such as water quality, carbon sequestration and biodiversity," has given "Paving Paradise" its first-ever bad review.

Well, not just bad. Scathing, really.

The reviewer, Adam Davis, concedes that he approaches the book with some bias: "I'm in the mitigation banking business myself, as a partner in a firm that buys land, restores wetlands to a standard set by the rules of the Corps and the EPA, and sells 'outsourced compliance' credits to developers, transportation departments, and others." One chapter in our book focuses on the flaws in this industry -- while also noting successes such as Dennis Benbow's Florida Mitigation Bank in Kissimmee.

The reviewer complains that the book depicts "a world so full of name-calling and so utterly devoid of successes or even good faith efforts that it can't help but call into question whether they are looking for the truth or just a sensational story." He contends that it's "obviously biased and one-dimensional."

However, he did offer up one compliment: "To their credit, the authors have meticulously researched every weakness, mistake and problem in the development and implementation of the wetlands-related regulations under the Clean Water Act."

To that we would add only this: Most of it was pointed out to us by brave federal agency employees who know the system is broken and hope that someday it will be fixed by Congress and the Corps. The current system is, as one Corps biologist told us, "a huge scam."