After years of hard work by American Rivers and its project partners, the Bloede Dam in Maryland’s Patapsco River was successfully removed in 2018, restoring 52.5 miles of the river’s natural flow and more than 65 miles of native fish spawning habitat. Removing the dam also strengthened community resilience, improved public safety, and facilitated increased sediment transport to marshes and beaches along the Chesapeake Bay.

In 2007 the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) initiated an experimental research project, called the 38th St. Bridge Project, on the rip-rap slope along the streambanks in order to demonstrate an alternative to the county's annual mowing-and-spraying of herbicide to control invasive species along the streambank.

A collaborative effort from USFWS, USDA, and Maryland DNR has worked over 20 years to eliminate the exotic, invasive nutria, which, combined with sea level rise and land subsidence, have caused over 5,000 acres loss of wetlands. Working closely with public and private landowners, the project managed to remove 14,000 nutria and protect over 250,000 acres of marshes.

The suburban city of Mount Rainer, Maryland aimed to restore the water quality Anacostia River, which was polluted by polluted stormwater runoff from urban and agricultural lands. The city developed Urban Green Infrastructure Plan to encourage community members to install nature-based stormwater control practices.

Maryland is continually losing islands, acres of shoreline, and critical coastal wetlands to sea-level rise, storms, and inundation. Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of the Environment analyzed future climate conditions using the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM), and prioritized highly threatened coastal areas for conservation and restoration.

The North End of Assateague Island National Seashore was experiencing continual and accelerating shoreline migration and erosion. Hurricanes and jetty construction have heightened these issues and led to geomorphologic, habitat, and biotic changes, along with 350 meters of shoreline shift. This project aims to restore natural conditions of the island and slow shoreline migration. 

As part of a larger effort to restore vital submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitat in Chesapeake Bay -- primarily eelgrass (Zostera marina) -- three sites in the Potomac River were chosen for replanting. Project practitioners employed a mechanical harvesting boat to collect eelgrass reproductive shoots, which were then stored at an aquaculture facility before seedling.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maryland Conservation Corps, the Friends of Blackwater and community volunteers to restore 10 acres of salt marsh in the northern and central portions of Barren Island.

Swan Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, was experiencing erosion, coastal wetland loss, subsidence, and sea-level rise. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and partners restored this island using cleaned dredged sediment. The addition of dredged materials increased island elevation, benefiting coastal plants and wildlife and increasing resiliency of nearby human communities.