Big sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii) once covered riparian floodplains throughout the southwestern United States and northern Sonora, Mexico. Today, these grasslands occupy less than 5% of their previous range. This restoration project evaluated the role of arbuscular mycorrhizae in the establishment and survival of sacaton at the Nature Conservancy's Patagonia/Sonoita Creek preserve near Patagonia, Arizona.

The 2011 Horseshoe 2 fire caused intense flooding and soil erosion which led to stream sedimentation, infrastructure damage, and degraded watershed conditions in the Chiricahua Mountains region. To address this, partners engaged in a restoration project in burned (Tex Canyon) and unburned (Bar Boot Allotment) watersheds using in-channel loose rock erosion control structures.

USFWS established the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) to research fire management with prescribed burns in semiarid grasslands at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR). The effect of prescribed burns and timing on organic matter, ammonium, and nitrate was measured. Results suggest that seasonality affects plant species productivity and composition.

The Chaparral Lands Conservancy is conducting a project to restore and enhance imperiled vernal pools and species on a City of San Diego preserve in Proctor Valley, which has been degraded by off-road vehicle activity. The Valley contains unique and imperiled vegetation, including coastal sage scrub, vernal pools, native grasslands, and chaparral, as well as numerous rare species. 

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) in Alpine, Texas, collaborated with local landowners to prioritize areas for pronghorn-friendly fence modifications. The team removed old, unused fences and accompanying fence posts, and adjusted the height and bottom strand of existing restrictive fences to allow pronghorn passage.

After the 2018 Martin Fire, the USDA and the Nevada Department of Wildlife completed a restoration project on public and private land to rehabilitate the burned rangeland. Using herbicide and previously tested experimental seed mixes, the project sought to control cheatgrass and establish both native and non-native perennial plant species to lessen the long-term wildfire damage on the rangeland.

Through a collaboration with USGS, the San Carlos Apache Forest Resources Program (SCAFRP) completed an analysis of aerial photographs and remote sensing data that help them develop baseline, historical extent of these ecosystems. Their goal is to restore the ecosystems by actively managing grasslands and savannas for prevention and reversal of woody species encroachments.

This project was initiated in 1995 to develop the scientific basis for ecological restoration of southwestern forests and woodlands at both operational and landscape scales. The project worked specifically in four project areas in the Greater Mount Trumbull Ecosystem within the Grand Canyon/Parashant National Monument: piñon-juniper restoration, piñon-juniper herbaceous revegetation, cheatgrass abatement and monitoring, and ponderosa pine restoration.

USIBWC and the USFWS collaborated on habitat improvements for fish and wildlife on the Rio Grande Canalization Project (RGCP). USIBWC implement habitat restoration at 22 sites covering 509 acres to reduce saltcedar and increase native riparian vegetation. Restoration also included mitigating channel maintenance activities that impacted vegetated islands.

The project aimed to restore riparian grass and sedge meadows currently dominated by Artemisia tridentata var. Tridentata. The project also served as research to study the effect on soil water and temperature, plant species establishment, and abiotic responses by water table depth, burning, and Artemisia. All Artemisia was killed as a result of the burn.

Until it was added to Red Rock Canyon State Park in 1989, the South Flat area had been heavily used by off-higway vehicles (OHVs) as a campground with large motor homes, leading to significant vegetation damage. The project goal was to revegetating the area with perennials.

Bat Conservation International (BCI) funded the project to increase the number of flowering agaves along the migratory route of nectarivorous migratory bats in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. Through the binational collaboration, the team protected and enhanced existing agave habitats and planted new agaves throughout the migratory corridor.

Drought, grazing, and monoculture have led to low infiltration and high erosion in New Mexico during the monsoon season. With funding from the New Mexico Healthy Soils Program, the owners of C-B Ranch and Esquibel Ranch are restoring infiltration and vegetation using keyline design techniques, such as swales and rip lines.

This project is a five-year program that restored the abandoned landing strip and tank trail at the Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing (VSTOL) site. The project tested various procedures such as site preparation, soil manipulation, irrigation methods, and plant protection to develop the most efficient methods for the restoration of native plant communities in disturbed areas while simultaneously controlling erosion and dust.

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.

The Dixon Water Foundation utilizes rotational grazing regimes to rehabilitate grasslands at Mimms Ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert, which was previously degraded by overgrazing. Rotational grazing mimics historical bison movements, allowing pastures long periods of rest and recovery after short disturbances. This promotes soil health and reduces runoff and erosion.

The Dixon Water Foundation employs grazing techniques that mimic historical bison movements to rehabilitate the Chihuahuan Desert grassland from the impacts of overgrazing, which have led to increased erosion, runoff, reduced aquifer recharge, and carbon sequestration. Such rotationally grazed practices improve soil health as cattle fertilize soil with manure and break up surface to allow seeding and water infiltration.

Researchers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley partnered with The Peregrine Fund and USFWS to evaluate grassland management strategies that address honey mesquite and huisache shrub encroachment in the Bahia Grande coastal prairie, with the goal of protecting the habitats for endangered falcon populations.

Spring Peeper Meadow Wetlands Restoration Project (SPM) aimed to restore a 30-acre sedge meadow on a tiled cornfield. Invasive reed canary grass was eliminated in 1995, and 115 species of native wildflowers, grasses, and sedges were planted to restore the original plant community. Over 67,000 seedlings and transplants were systematically planted.

To restore the rare riparian wetlands at the Rio Yaqui Basin, USFWS purchased conservation easements to protect water resources and increase connectivity of riparian and upland habitats. USFWS built trust with a local coalition of ranchers who support private land conservation. Two conservation easements were purchased: the 7,000-acre 99-Bar Ranch and the 13,713-acre Bar Boot Ranch.