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Nature-Based Solutions Case Study Search

This database contains over 400 implementations of nature-based solutions. Use the filters to identify the case studies most relevant to you.

While all cases here exemplify applications of NBS strategies, they were gathered from various sources and not all were written using the framing of nature-based solutions. To qualify as a nature-based solution, a project must provide benefits to both people and nature. In some instances, the human benefits are present but not emphasized in the case write ups; these cases were included because they still provide useful information to learn from.

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The coral communities in Culebra were stressed by recognized erosion from an unpaved parking lot and road that had increased the volume of post-rainstorm runoff carrying pollutants. Community members managed to slow the flow of rainwater through erosion and sedimentation control, reforestation and habitat restoration through dune restoration, restoration of the line permanent vegetation, and delineation of vehicular and pedestrian access.

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Ah Pah Creek is a fourth order stream with a 16.3 square mile watershed composed entirely of steep, forested land that was degraded by road and highway construction. Yoruk Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) and the California Conservation Corps (CCC) collaborated to address riparian restoration needs within the drainage, including extensive riparian conifer planting in its three major tributaries.

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Arden Park is along Minnehaha Creek, an impaired waterway that is a tributary to the Mississippi River. This park is in a highly developed suburb just south of Minneapolis (Edina). This project improved the park and restored a section of the creek, improving habitat, water quality, and recreation opportunities. 

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City of Arlington constructed a 21-acre stormwater wetland park to treat stormwater from Old Town Arlington, clean backwash water from the City’s water treatment plant, and reclaim water from the City’s Water Reclamation Facility before infiltrating or discharging into the Stillaguamish River.

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This project, implemented by the NC Division of Water Quality and NC Division of Forest Resources, aimed to reduce nitrogen and mercury loading of downstream waters in the Albemarle/Palmico estuary system by restoring wetland hydrology and native bog vegetation to a 640-acre research area. Activities included installation of water-control structures and replanting 100,000 trees.

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The coastal marsh habitat in Blair Island, San Francisco was impaired by construction of salt ponds and dirt levees before its ecological value was recognized. The project aimed to restore the 1, 400 acres of diked marsh to tidal marsh primarily by breaching the perimeter levees to allow tidal action via surrounding slough channels.

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Bayou La Branche, originally a brackish marshland, was levied and pumped into farmland before flooded into a large, open-water pond after the 1915 Hurricane. USACE and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources aimed to re-create the marsh habitat with an area of 70% land and 30% water within 5 years of construction.

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The City of Bloomington began a creek naturalization project in 2002 to address significant erosion caused by intense storm water pressure and to enhance biodiversity in a popular local park. Through partnerships with local organizations, the City reduced flooding impacts, improved water quality and increased plant and animal species diversity in the improvement area.

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An eelgrass restoration program implemented by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries aimed to mitigate assumed impacts to marine resources resulting from the HubLine gas pipeline construction which transits the Harbor. The restoration was intended to provide important shallow-water eelgrass habitat to juvenile crustaceans, shellfish, and finfish which commonly inhabit sea grass meadows.

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Camden County, New Jersey frequently experiences combined sewer flooding during intense rain events. Camden SMART Initiative, a partnership of local government, state environmental agency, local universities and local nonprofits, promotes a network of green infrastructure programs and projects throughout the county. Projects like urban greening, rain gardens and stream daylighting were implemented. 

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Due to extreme flooding events and excessive nitrogen levels in the Cedar River Watershed, the City of Cedar Rapids led the Middle Cedar Partnership Project to reduce nutrient runoff and improve soil health. The partnership collaborated with local farmers, landowners, and conservation organizations to implement strategies to reduce nutrient runoff, mitigate flood risk, and improve soil health.

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Florida’s Charlotte Harbor Estuary was established as national estuary under the 1987 National Estuary Program for its significance to wildlife and local economy. A 20-year Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was formulated to restore and protect the estuarine system. Restoration activities started in June of 2001

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Tomorrow’s Water led by Playa Lakes Joint Venture (PLJV) is an organization working to ensure water availability under immediate and future drought conditions in the Ogallala Aquifer region. PLJV restores playas to enhance water availability and quality, helps communities increase irrigation efficiency, and empowers communities to establish water management plans. 

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In the mid-1990s, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, was set to begin development on the Warren Golf Course. The University initially designed the course to have Juday Creek, a historic waterway with declining ecological health, run through it. To protect the creek, community groups worked with Notre Dame researchers to restore it.

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An astonishing 50% of the original Everglades have been destroyed due to changes in the hydrologic regime and urbanization in Florida. In 2000, Congress approved the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that provides funding for alterations to existing structures and addition of new structures (reservoirs, channels, etc.) to re-create the effect of the original water flow.

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The Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis = Gila bicolor mohavensis) is a federally endangered species that was native to the Mojave River, however now only exists in natural and man-made refuges. This project aims to establish and maintain refuges for the fish to promote recovery. 

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Coastal Louisiana contains around 40% of the wetlands in the continental United States and accounts for approximately 80% of the nation’s wetland loss due to sea-level rise, storm surges, and subsidence. This project restored 1,600 hectares of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) forest at Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area. 

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The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), in an effort to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs), is implementing green stormwater infrastructure projects to reduce runoff. These projects include rain barrels, grassed swales, cisterns infiltration trenches, permeable pavements, increased tree cover, and rooftop greening. 

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In Midland, Michigan a former ash pond for a coal-fired powerplant is located within the floodplain of the Tittabawssee River. Instead of the traditional (and expensive) cap and long-term maintenance plan, Dow's corporate nature team removed the ash and restored the area to a conservation wetland.  

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The Dutch Slough project is a large-scale tidal marsh restoration, habitat enhancement and open space preservation project in the rapidly urbanizing area of eastern Contra Costa County. The 1,166-acre site was purchased in 2003, and adaptive management interventions were planned as experiments to study how the ecosystem functions and how best to achieve the restoration objectives.

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