The Trinity River basin has been degraded by human activities for almost two hundred years, leading to a decline in available salmonid habitat and populations. The Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) was created in 2000 to restore salmon and steelhead populations. The project also aims to restore the river through flow management, streambank restoration, and riverbed improvement. 

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.

Bird Track Springs is a 2-mile reach of the Upper Grande Ronde River in eastern Oregon that has been degraded and altered by human activity. The once multi-threaded, well-connected river and floodplain became a single-threaded river with little connectivity and degraded habitat. This project aims to reconnect the river to its floodplain, increase habitat complexity, and restore salmonid populations. 

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

Reef balls and oyster shells were used to create 1.02 miles of oyster reef off the coast of Coffee Island, in Portersville Bay, Alabama. These reefs reduced erosion, enhanced biodiversity, created jobs and improved local fisheries. This also created 20 acres of seagrass and marsh habitat, further protecting the shoreline. 

This project is a cooperative initiative carried out by the Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force to revitalize the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) population in Delaware Bay. With congressional support and federal funding, the task force coordinated the planting of more than 280,000 bushels of ocean quahog, surf clam and Maryland oyster shells spread over 150 acres in 2005.

The native Guadalupe Bass had become locally extirpated in the San Marcos River and its tributary due to hybridization with non-native Smallmouth Bass, habitat degradation, and reduced water availability. With funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) led a project to restore the native Guadalupe Bass population

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources hired the Design-Build team of EcoGro/Ridgewater/Stantec to design and build a one-mile extension downstream to create one of Kentucky’s first self-sustaining trout stream capable of supporting spawning, which was previously impaired by the Wolf Creek dam.

Kerry Island is a part of the Lower Columbia River Estuary in Oregon, and has been severely degraded by agriculture and industrial development. The Columbia Land Trust acquired the land and removed a levee to restore tidal fluctuations. They also restored marsh habitat, improving populations of important fish species. 

This project aimed to restore the Lavaca Bay from being contaminated by discharged mercury from a chlorine-alkali processing unit at its Point Comfort. A staged approach to restoration was adopted with the first stage focused on recreational fishing service losses. The second stage focused on natural resource injuries and service losses of an ecological nature.

The Three Forks Ranch in Routt County, Colorado was purchased by David Pratt in 1999. Dave Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology was later hired to improve the hydrology and habitat conditions of a 10.5-mile stretch of the Little Snake River flowing across the property.

A 1960s-era levee on the Dungeness River resulted in a straighter channel, increased water velocities, reduced habitat, and a decline in the effectiveness of the levee. This project removed part of the old levee, built a setback levee, and relocated a road bisecting the floodplain. 

The New Jersey DOT implemented nature-based solutions to stabilize approximately 1 mile of eroding marsh banks, addressing boat wake concerns from the replacement of the Route 52 causeway near Ocean City, NJ. The design included shoreline regrading using onsite material, coir fascine edging to stabilize the marsh toe, and planting Spartina alterniflora landward of the coir fascine.

The Mud Mountain Dam in Enumclaw, Washington was not meeting fish-passage needs. Construction on a new trap-and-haul fish passage facility began in 2018. The new design is anticipated to move 60,000 fish per day. This facility will allow endangered species such as Chinook Salmon and Bullhead and Steel Trout to travel up-river to breeding grounds. 

The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1966 altered the hydrology of Lower Colorado River, and subsequently non-native fish species were introduced for recreational fishing. To protect the native fish population in Bright Angel Creek, biologists at Grand Canyon National Park initiated a multi-year salmonid removal effort and reintroduced native Humpback Chub to tributaries free of non-native trout.

Following a fire that reduced non-native Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout populations, the Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF), USFWS, and the Gila National Forest initiated a project to restore the native, previously extirpated Gila Trout populations in Whitewater Creek. The team used electrofishing surveys to document non-native fish presence and perform reconnaissance for rotenone treatments.

This particular case study focuses on the shellfish restoration project to restore quahog, bay scallop and oyster populations in the coastal Rhode Island salt ponds following injuries caused by the North Cape oil spill. This was attempted by replacing the quantity of biomass (direct mortality plus forgone production, estimated 1.0 million kilograms) lost due to the spill.

The Olympia Oyster Restoration Project aimed to restore the threatened Olympia oysters, which had nearly gone extinct due to over-harvesting, sediment loads, and pollution. The project team 1) identified appropriate habitats for oyster restoration, 2) modified substrate for growing oysters by adding old oyster shells, 3) propagated and seed oyster spat, and 4) monitored results.

Pennsylvania’s freshwater ecosystems are at risk from climate change. Increased air temperatures, and the related increase of stream waters, can reduce the ability for some aquatic species to survive. After conducting a vulnerability assessment, recommended actions include identifying and protecting critical habitat and removing small dams to conserve habitat and mitigate temperature increases. 

After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, over 11% of Puerto Rico’s coral reefs were damaged. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, along with NOAA, FEMA and other local partners assessed damages and conducted emergency reattachment of corals, resulting in approximately 16,000 corals over 63 sites in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.