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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 Yakima River Basin in Washington State was once home to thriving salmonid populations, that are important cultural and economic species to Tribal Nations in the basin. Salmonid populations have declined due to habitat degradation and fish passage barriers. To address these issues, the Bureau of Reclamation created the Schaake Habitat Improvement Project. 

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Intensive campground use at the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park, California, has compacted the soil and left areas without understory vegetation or tree recruitment. To better inform the restoration of these sites after closure, natural regeneration potential was tested against planting and soil restoration methods.

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For over ten years, the Tucson Audubon Society has collaborated with Audubon Southwest through the Important Bird Area (IBA) program to develop a protocol that protects the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus; CCLO). They monitored the CCLO population through volunteer-led in-person surveys and audio recordings, analyzed the conditions of cattle tanks, and documented the presence of invasive Lehmann’s lovegrass.

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In Colorado, the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department engaged in ongoing efforts to remove cattails and manage American bullfrogs to protect the native northern leopard frogs (NLF) from predation, competition, and disease transmission. Since 2015, ecologists have mechanically removed approximately 500 adult bullfrogs from 10 NLF habitats.

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Since 2004, A.T. & Lucinda Cole, founders of the Pitchfork Ranch in New Mexico, have been working to restore the ciénaga habitat that had been degraded by overgrazing. They constructed over 200 in-channel and 800 drainage grade-control structures, implemented sustainable gazing, replanted tree and vegetation, and reintroduced endangered wildlife species.

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Land managers from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) are working to restore grassland habitat through the removal of western honey mesquite surrounding Calamity Creek of the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (EMWMA). They implemented two herbicide treatment plans through Individual Plant Treatment (IPT) and aerial application.

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The Walnut Gulch watershed in southeastern Arizona has experienced shrub encroachment that caused erosion and reduced infiltration on grasslands. Researchers at the University of Arizona and at the Agricultural Resource Service conducted an experiment to investigate the effectiveness of herbicide treatments in reducing woody species abundance and their impact to vegetation, runoff, and soil loss.

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The Southeast Arizona Collaborative Grassland Workgroup was created in 2010 to develop a southeastern Arizona Regional Pronghorn Strategy to increase pronghorn population numbers, distribution, and connectedness. The project aimed to improve habitat connectivity and access to available water sources through strategic fence modifications, and improve habitat quality through grassland restoration and addition of water sources.

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Since 2009, the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has been working to restore 4,500 acres of converted hay fields to their natural sagebrush conditions—conducting controlled experiments, initial restoration, and an adaptive management approach to achieve long-term, high quality ecological restoration goals.

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In 2012, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) led the Lower North Fork Prescribed Fire Project on a 50-acre unit of the Denver Water property. However, a rapidly escalating wind event carried ground-level embers across the established prescribed fire control line, resulting in three spot fires that eventually led to an escape and conversion to a wildfire.

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Non-governmental organizations Borderlands Restoration (BR) and Gila Watershed Partnership (GWP) led the Madrean Archipelago Plant Propagation (MAPP) Initiative to coordinate seed collection, curation, and production of plant materials with on-the-ground restoration in the Sky Islands. MAPP created a database to track seed collection, propagation, and outplanting data, and coordinated seed collection efforts with the BLM and NPS.

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The Mount Rose Preserve Forest Restoration Project aimed to (1) re-establish the forest, shrubland, and meadow habitats, (2) innovate and communicate locally appropriate forest restoration practices, and (3) restore existing plant species through the exclusion of white-tailed deer and invasive plant species.

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Local ranchers drove the restoration of semi-dessert grassland to create diverse and connected habitats for pronghorn, quail, and other grassland species, as well as improve rangeland productivity for cattle on private lands and state trust lands. The project focuses on mechanical removal of mesquite that has reduced nesting habitats and cover of forage for wildlife and caused habitat fragmentation.

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The Nature Conservancy led the restoration of abandoned agricultural fields on the Cobra Ranch property in Klondyke, Arizona. The initial goal was to establish native grass ground cover. The project has since expanded to include multiple ecosystem improvement objectives, such as increasing water infiltration and aquifer recharge, and promoting sustainable farming and grazing practices.

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The New England Cottontail Project is a restoration effort with the objective to restore the New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) to their native habitats through the creation of young forest and captive breeding programs. Led by USFWS, young forests were created through tree/ shrub cutting, heavy-duty mowing/mulching, field mowing, forest harvesting, controlling invasive plants, and prescribed burning.

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Northerly Island on Lake Michigan was used as a private airport until 2003, and sat unused and contributing no ecological or public benefits until 2012, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed a restoration project. This project would restore 16 hectares into 6 habitats native to the Chicago area. 

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The National Park Service led an oak savanna restoration project along a 5-acre stretch of the Mississippi River Gorge in a Minneapolis neighborhood. The project sought to eliminate the threat of exotic species, reintroduce the appropriate gorge plant community, and address erosion concerns with the collaborative effort of national and local agencies, and the advocacy of the local community.

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The Regional Transportation Authority partnered with the Arizona DOT to construct two wildlife crossing structures (one overpass and one underpass) with adjacent wildlife-funnel fencing on Oracle Road to help wildlife move between protected habitat areas. The two wildlife crossing structures were constructed at the best available location to accommodate both large mammals and small animals.

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Ranch owners in the Alter Valley of Southern Arizona have worked with the US Natural Resource Conservation Service since 1984 to scientifically monitor range vegetation and conduct brush management to care for the 600,000 plus acre watershed surrounding the Ranch. Mechanical removal was conducted in 1984 – 1990 on 1,000 acres of shrubland.

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The Paradise meadows have been subject to heavy recreational use since the early 1900s. In 1986, the National Park Service initiated a long-term restoration project aimed at rehabilitating and revegetating 913 impacted areas within the meadows. Restoration of individual impacts involves 6 steps: scarification, stabilization, filling, revegetation, site protection, and monitoring.

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