A collaborative effort among irrigators, conservation interests, regulatory agencies, local entities, and nonprofit organizations is working to restore the declining Colorado River Cutthroat Trout population in Abrams Creek, Colorado that had been impacted by water diversion. The team piped the ditch to improve the irrigation efficiency and conserved 40% of the diverted water.

Interstate Island is located in Duluth Superior Harbor in Lake Superior. The island is critical habitat for the state-threatened common tern (Sterna hirundo), and was experiencing flooding, erosion, and land loss. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed 51,990 cubic meters of dredged material on the island to prevent further loss. 

The Ed Pastor Kino Environmental Restoration Project (KERP) aimed to restore natural areas by redeveloping an unlined stormwater detention basin in Tucson, Arizona. KERP covers 125 acres and includes constructed stream courses, five vegetation-lined ponds, restored native vegetation communities, flood control structures, and a recreational path.

The West Lake estuary and watershed is an urban/suburban estuary ecosystem with one of the largest ports in the USA (Port Everglades). Dredging and filling in support of this port have modified both the shallow edge and bottom of the estuary. This project successful establishment of 500 hectares of mangroves at West Lake in Broward County, Florida.

The over 3-meter-high unstable banks of Meadowview stream were a serious public safety concern to the nearby community. To create a safer environment, the community installed a 3:1 slope planted with Californian native plants along the stream bank that was stabilized with compost rolls seeded with native grasses.

The St. Johns River is Florida’s most important commercial and recreational river. Mile Point, along the river in Jacksonville, has experienced severe shoreline erosion and has created dangerous navigation conditions. This project improved navigation conditions, reduced erosion, restored salt marsh habitat, and created new oyster habitat. 

After the 2011 Missouri river Flood event, the sponsors of Levee L-575 pursued the Nonstructural alternative (NSA) of a levee setback under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Operations Public Law 84-99 program. This setback relocated a segment of the levee from its current alignment to a location farther back from the banks. 

Dredged material from Murrells Inlet, SC was placed at Garden City Beach and Huntington Beach State Park. These beach nourishment projects protect beach-front infrastructure from erosion and storm impacts, as well as create increased habitat for numerous bird species. Beneficial use of dredged material helps reduce future maintenance costs. 

North Carolina Highway 24 is located between multiple waterways and is vulnerable to sea-level rise, storm surges, and coastal erosion. The NC Department of Transportation opted for nature-based solutions over traditional repairs. This project constructed 260 meters of living shoreline, comprised of granite rock and oyster reef structures and a 0.1-hectare salt marsh. 

The city of Kinston, North Carolina experienced devastating flood losses in the 1990s. After a string of three hurricanes flooded or damaged over 75% of homes in Lenoir county, Kinston took action to improve flood resiliency. The city purchased flood-prone properties and relocated neighborhoods to higher ground. This restored natural floodplain functions. 

A rancher-led conservation organization in southeastern Arizona is aiming to halt excessive erosion in the Altar Wash. In 2012, they initiated the Elkhorn/Las Delicias Watershed Restoration Demonstration Project (Elk/LD Demo Project), a 13,000-acre project using road rehabilitation, upland restoration, and natural channel design to recreate conditions where natural erosion and deposition processes could resume.

Cape May, New Jersey is increasingly vulnerable to flooding and erosion from coastal storms. This project replenished the beach and restored dune and freshwater wetland habitats. This project resulted in restoration of over 460 acres of coastal habitat, and increased resiliency of the Cape May community. 

The Southern Flow Corridor project works to relieve more than 1,214 hectares of community from regular flooding and reconnect more than 65 hectares of Tillamook Bay’s salmon-bearing habitat to streams. This project converted retired dairy land into wetlands by removing a levee system. This restored 179 hectares of habitat and opened new tidal channels. 

This project reconnected 965 acres of Columbia River floodplain to the lands and waters of the Steigerwald Lake National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. This reconnection reduces flood risk, improves terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat, and restores natural ecosystem functions. This project protects nearby communities from flooding that have consistently damaged properties. 

Managers at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (MCASY) used a web-based weather-monitoring network and a cloud-based mapping app to help detect, map, monitor, and treat invasive Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii) and buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) at the Barry M. Goldwater Range-West (BMGR-W) of the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona.

Researchers from the University of Arizona tested the ability of branch mulch and compost from mesquite removal projects to reestablish vegetation and improve soil health in the Altar Valley of Southern Arizona over the course of two years. Recycling whole mesquite branch mulch eliminates the need for tillage and reduces costs.

In 2021, the Vermont Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy Vermont (TNC), and Habitat Restoration Solutions, Inc. implemented a process-based restoration project in Crooked Creek. They worked with student volunteers to install 9 beaver dam analogues (BDAs) and 15 post-assisted log structures (PALs) to slow water, trap sediment, and reconnect the stream with its floodplain.

Just south of Atlanta’s busy Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Clayton County seems like an obvious place for metropolitan growth. But more homes and businesses mean a higher demand on the county’s limited water supplies. Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) chose to construct treatment wetlands to increase water supply.

The Wood for Life partnership (WFL) was a collaborative network of organizations in northern Arizona including the USFS, Navajo Nation, and Hopi Tribe. They are working to remove thinned fuelwood from restoration projects in the wildland urban interface (WUI) to reduce the risk of wildfires, and make the removed wood available for Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe members.