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Nature-Based Solutions Tools Search

This database contains over 400 tools and resources that can help guide practitioners at various stages of the nature-based solutions project cycle. Use the filters to identify the tools and resources most useful to you.

You can filter the full list by the habitat type you’re working in, the nature-based solutions strategy you want to use, the project phase you are looking for help with, or the type of tool/resource you’re looking for.

The tools and resources shown here were gathered through a robust search of both federal and non-federal sources. We recognize that this library will never be completely comprehensive, but if you know of an important missing tool or resource, please email nesp@duke.edu.

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This webpage provides information on how to implement green roofs on historic buildings, specifically within the NPS.

Relevant phase:
NBS Strategies:

Also developed by NOAA, this guidebook outlines the physical, ecological, and policy considerations that influence a living shoreline creation project. Emphasis is given to the site suitability factors for successful projects.

This webpage includes guides communities can use to support hazard mitigation projects. BMP's for connecting with different demographics (e.g. older adults, faith based communities) and on connecting mitigation to core community pillars like transportation and agriculture are included.

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This guide details the process of monitoring riparian restoration projects. The authors explain the reasoning behind monitoring, what to monitor, and monitoring techniques.

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This comprehensive guide covers every aspect of seagrass restoration from project planning to monitoring. The guide also gives a regional breakdown of permitting requirements needed for a project.

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This guide provides information on how to thin a ponderosa forest. This includes stocking rate, basal area, and deciding which trees to mark.

NBS Strategies:

This guide is tailored to restoration projects following commercial peat extraction. The authors cover restoration strategies based on the starting condition of the peatland, setting goals for the restored peatland, and the environmental impacts of rewetting peatlands.

Relevant phase:
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Overview webpage outlining funding, restoration techniques, invasive species removal, design considerations, and potential obstacles to restoration. This resource focuses on practical concerns, such as finding contractors and funding opportunities.

This is a step-by-step guide to conducting a prescribed burn from start to finish, with habitat management as the primary goal. It also offers specific technical guidelines.

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This guide gives a framework for designing beach nourishment projects and weighing the trade-offs between different sediment sources. Other topics include estimating the life expectancy and slope adjustment for a project.

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NBS Strategies:

This guide encompasses a variety of coral reef damage mitigation strategies, including ways to remediate the impacts of oil spills, dredging, sedimentation, and pollutant-laden stormwater runoff. The guide also contains a comprehensive list of all federal statutes that apply to coral reefs.

NBS Strategies:

This guide covers all the main facets of dune restoration, including invasive species removal, constructing boardwalks, and rebuilding dunes. The authors also include a troubleshooting section, monitoring advice, and information about the relationship between dune restoration and beach nourishment.

NBS Strategies:

This resource focuses on mitigating risks associated with coral transplantation. Topics covered include disease transmission, ecological concerns, and genetic considerations.

NBS Strategies:

This guide is the comprehensive policy document for FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), HMGP Post Fire, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs.

EPA's Healthy Watersheds Program vision is to protect and maintain the aquatic ecological integrity of watersheds and supporting habitat networks to ensure that future generations may enjoy these resources and the social and economic benefits that they provide.The site includes several resource to design outreach plans, locate existing watershed restoration projects, and guidance on developing a watershed health index to evaluate your own watershed. 

This report reviews a vision for designing a road network that incorporate WRCS for human and wildlife benefits. It includes a description of common challenges faced when installing these structures.

FEMA's Community Rating System can be used to offer communities credits to reduce policyholders' flood insurance premiums when appropriate flood risk reduction measures are taken. One way to earn credits is through floodplain (open space) conservation. This guide explains how to earn credits in areas already under protection agreements and ways to earn additional credits.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to assist communities in implementing nature-based solutions and is especially useful for Community Planning and Development Fund recipients.

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This report seeks to quanitfy the restoration benefits of EarthCorps invasive species management projects in the Puget Sound. It details practical methods to evaluate the benefits of different invasive management activites.

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This report seeks to quanitfy the restoration benefits of an EarthCorpswetland enhancement project in Bellingham, WA. It details practical ways to evaluate the benefits of different restoration methods.