The Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan is a 30-year, $3.8 billion plan that restores ecological integrity to the region and provides assurances for meeting agricultural water needs even in the face of ongoing climate change. The plan includes key elements to help protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and improve the reliability of the region’s water supply.

City of Arlington constructed a 21-acre stormwater wetland park to treat stormwater from Old Town Arlington, clean backwash water from the City’s water treatment plant, and reclaim water from the City’s Water Reclamation Facility before infiltrating or discharging into the Stillaguamish River.

Supported by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, local government, and the North Cove community designed a “dynamic revetment” along the shoreline with rebuilt dunes and placement of cobble berms as part of the local efforts to find effective treatments for severe shoreline erosion, flooding, and sea level rise along Willapa Bay, Washington.

The Duwamish Estuary in Seattle, Washington has been subject to heavy industrial development and pronounced anthropogenic disturbances associated with the Port of Seattle and other commercial facilities along its waters. This project sought to restore intertidal wetlands at three sites in the estuary, and to thereby enhance public access to the river and create vital habitat for several important species.

Terminal 117, a former industrial and superfund site along the Duwamish River, was transformed into the Duwamish River People’s Park and Shoreline Habitat. This project cleaned up a contaminated site, restored natural and stable shoreline habitat, and created river access in a historically marginalized neighborhood. 

In 1992, Congress passed the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act, authorizing the removal of dams to restore the Elwha River's altered ecosystem. The Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam were removed in 2011, allowing water to flow freely from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

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. 

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 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. 

Nason Creek was degraded into a straight, disconnected, habitat devoid stream in the 1950s due to levee, railroad, and powerline construction. Chelan county worked to restore habitat, reconnect Nason Creek to its floodplain, and relocate human constraints. This project removed a levee, rerouted a powerline corridor, and restored creek habitat. 

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.

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.

The Puyallup River in Washington state is channelized and disconnected from its floodplain due to levee construction and logging in the region. This has led to habitat degradation for important fish species and a higher risk of flooding and damage to important transportation infrastructure. This project will reconnect over 28 hectares of the floodplain. 

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. 

Tulalip Tribe and other tribes in the Snohomish basin are concerned by the decline in salmon population in the region. Salmon loss is considered an economic, cultural, and spiritual threat to the tribal members’ lifeblood and identities. Local groups worked with farmers to control agricultural runoff that was found to be the major cause of salmon mortality.

The Yakima River Basin in Washington State supports municipalities, tribal communities, environmental uses and agricultural uses. Droughts have historically impacted the basin's water quality and availability, and their frequency is projected to increase under climate change conditions. A working group was formed to develop a climate change water resource management plan.