ROOM:
TRACK:
Ecosystem Restoration
TOPIC:
Collaborative Funding, Formulation, and Data
MODERATOR:
PRESENTATIONS:
Title: Lessons Learned in Public Private
Collaboration in the
Presenter: Bill Hubbard, New England District
Budget reality and private interest have coalesced in the
creation of a new venue to support ecological restoration in the region. The Corporate Wetlands Restoration
Partnership (CWRP) is an innovative private-public initiative aimed at
preserving, restoring, enhancing and protecting aquatic habitats. Bringing
together corporations, federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations and
academia, CWRP allows members to contribute in a fundamental way to crucial
projects involving
Seeking to foster positive working relationships among
corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations and communities is
one of the primary goals of the CWRP. This unique approach to aquatic habitat
enhancement results in the maximum application of government funds for
projects. Using corporate contributions, combined with government and other
funds, the CWRP contributes vital resources to projects needing funding and
support. The ability to leverage federal dollars with contributions makes the
CWRP initiative truly unique in restoration, protection, enhancement and
preservation efforts.
Title: Ballona
Creek Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study
Presenter: MaLisa Martin, Los Angeles District
Ballona Creek Watershed consists of a170 sq. miles of highly
urbanized landscape (80 percent) and many municipalities and will take a
comprehensive watershed approach to restore and enhance the creek and remaining
wetlands. The study will investigate the feasibility of riparian restoration
and soft bottom configuration along the Creek and at with two tributaries,
opportunities for water storage in the upper watershed, and restoration options
for scarce coastal wetlands and lagoons.
The challenging aspects of the study are due to the disparate
locations of project units, complex mix of sponsors, and the past 30 years of
litigation. The Creek winds it way
through many Cities and the Study like the Creek, involves many sponsors: City of
Title: Using
Virtual
Presenter: Camie Knollenberg, Rock Island District
Lake Belle View Feasibility Study presented a challenging
opportunity to solve a complicated water resource problem while serving a
non-traditional sponsor and multiple stakeholders. The recommended plan allows the community to
maintain their lake while achieving the Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources’ and
Title: Streamlining
Presenters:
Peter
Besrutschko, Jacksonville District; Denise C. Martin, Jacksonville District; James
T. Stinson, ERDC; Greg Walker, ERDC; Ken Pathak, ERDC
The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District and ERDC
Vicksburg plan to use the DataNet web services based data management system to
develop a prototype application for the Everglades Restoration. The prototype
will be used to view and process project data which has been collected and
stored by other federal, state and local agencies. The DataNet system uses a
new technology that is comprised of callable programs or software components
called Web Services. The Web Services instantly acquire data now inefficiently
and inconsistently accessed from ftp, http, CD, data servers, etc. The primary benefit of this approach is a
considerable time savings to Scientists and Engineers
who acquire, reformat, transform, and organize data. Moreover, data are typically available in
disparate formats and structures, unnecessarily complicating simple retrievals . This may result in
needless requests for additional data collection and monitoring, or suboptimal decisions
based on partial data. This prototype
would allow most data collected, QA/QCed, and stored by others to be
automatically reformatted to a standard, allowing diverse sources to be viewed
as if the data resided within a single data set. For example, water quality data is currently
being collected and stored all over the country, by different agencies, with
different data structures and standards.
The current plan is to develop the DataNet web services
prototype to provide coverage for the entire State of
ROOM:
TRACK:
Ecosystem Restoration
TOPIC:
Learning From Others, Monitoring and Adapting
MODERATOR:
PRESENTATIONS:
Title: Collaborative Planning And Science Based Scoping:
Presenters: Steven Kopecky, Baltimore District; Steven
Pugh, Baltimore District
Over the past five years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Baltimore District, has been working with the State of
Efforts to conduct landscape-scale restoration have received
a major boost by being named as a top priority in the Corps'
Title: The
Lower
Presenters: Beth Brandreth, Philadelphia District
The Lower Cape May Meadows project is a coastal ecosystem
restoration project along the Atlantic coast of
Designing and implementing a beach restoration project with
a primary goal of ecosystem restoration has allowed the addition of habitat
features not typically possible in standard beach projects. The majority of these features were designed
to benefit the Federally threatened piping
plover. Since plovers historically
nested within the project area, Federal and State agencies worked closely with
the Corps to develop habitat features to improve the nesting and feeding
habitat available to plovers. Throughout
the construction of the project, the Corps has continued to work closely with
the landowners and resource agencies to make applicable project modifications
to benefit this species resulting in a highly successful 2005 nesting season. Intensive collaboration has also taken place
regarding the protection of state-listed plant and animal species which occur
at the site.
Title:
Presenter: Wm. Michael Turner, Louisville District
A 1998 meeting of a small group of scientists and engineers
from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Louisville District led to a cooperative
effort to modify regulation and operation of
In addition to modeling reservoir regulation, the first cost
shared environmental restoration project between the Corps of Engineers and The
Nature Conservancy was designed and constructed during 1999-2001. A Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
sponsored by the NRCS, KDFWR, Kentucky Department of Conservation, and The
Nature Conservancy added to the momentum.
Louisville District participates as a team member developing and guiding
the USDA funded monitoring program.
Monitoring studies are led by
Title: A Collaborative Approach towards
Monitoring and Adaptive Management of Restored Freshwater Tidal Wetlands in the
Presenters: Steven B. Pugh, Baltimore District
Over the past decade, the Corps of Engineers, in partnership
with the
In conjunction with these projects, a monitoring and
adaptive management strategy was developed to evaluate project success, provide
lessons learned and establish a platform to implement additional management
measures when necessary to achieve intended goals.
To facilitate communication, a wetlands restoration
workgroup was established. Each year, results from the monitoring program and
other pertinent research were presented to the workgroup. The workgroup was
able to use lessons learned from earlier restoration efforts in the development
of subsequent projects. In addition, several adaptive management strategies
were initiated that have been critical to insure the future of the tidal
wetlands in the Anacostia. Some of these strategies have included non-native
plant species control, modifications in targeted wetland plant communities,
establishment of temporary goose exclosures and the development of a resident
goose management plan.
By pulling together the resources of multiple Federal and
local agencies along with active citizens groups, many obstacles have been
overcome and there is a much better opportunity for problems to be solved in
the future.
ROOM:
TRACK:
Ecosystem Restoration
TOPIC:
Challenges in Formulation
MODERATOR:
PRESENTATIONS:
Title: How
Many Fish Equal A Tree?
Presenter: Robert L. Browning II, Albuquerque District
Economic analysis can evaluate the impacts of constraints in
formulating ecosystem restoration projects.
My involvement in the Albuquerque BioPark Sec. 1135 study began with the
question, “How many fish equal a tree?”
The thought at the time was there’s a limited supply of water and the
team will need to determine an efficient allocation of water for an aquatic
habitat and a wetland habitat. During
the course of the study, it was clear that, though fish and trees didn’t have
to compete for the same water (the final design provided trees water as a
positive externality of watering the aquatic habitat), the economist can add
value to the formulation of the NER plan by evaluating the impacts of natural
constraints (available acreage, water inflow rates) and policy constraints
(available water rights) when developing management measures for a restoration
project.
This presentation will discuss the development and analysis
of management features used to generate an aquatic habitat and three types of
wetland habitat, the use of IWR-PLAN and limitations encountered, team
involvement challenges and lessons learned.
Title:
Presenter: Eric Bush, Jacksonville District
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)
consists of 68 separate components, which have been combined into multiple
projects to be implemented over a 40-year implementation period. The CERP was approved by Congress in the
Water Resources Development Act of 2000 as a “framework” for the restoration of
the
The CERP Programmatic Regulations (33 CFR Part 385) enacted
in 2003 further established project implementation principles, including the
requirement that “(i)ndividual projects shall be formulated, evaluated, and
justified based on their ability to contribute to the goals and purposes of the
Plan and on their ability to provide benefits that justify costs on a
next-added increment basis (emphasis added).
The regulations define the term “next-added increment” as “the next
project to be added to a system of projects that includes only those projects
that have been approved and likely to have been implemented” and established a
requirement that program-wide guidance be developed, including “instructions
for formulation and evaluation of alternatives developed for Project
Implementation Reports, their cost effectiveness, and impacts,” including the
process for evaluating the project as the next-added increment of the CERP.
This presentation will describe lessons learned from
applying the basic investment concept of “cost justified by benefits” to
watershed-scale restoration planning for the Everglades ecosystem, technical
procedures that have been developed to satisfy legal requirements and meet
standards of public and scientific acceptability, and compliance challenges
associated with applying technical procedures to federal and USACE planning
policy requirements.
Title: Integration of A
Large-Scale General Investigation Ecosystem Restoration Projects Within A
Regional Planning Framework
Presenter: Jeffrey F. Dillon, Seattle District
The Puget Sound Nearshore restoration project (PSNER) is a
General Investigation Feasibility Study initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in 2000. Its purpose is to
restore nearshore health to degraded areas along
Title: Measuring Ecosystem Restoration
Benefits for Fish Passage/Dam Removal Projects – Review of Existing Projects
Presenter: Jodi Staebell, Rock Island District
Key factors
in quantifying ecosystem restoration benefits for fish passage/dam removal
projects include: (1) quantity of habitat with restored connectivity, (2)
quality of habitat upstream of the dam, (3) efficiency of each alternative
(including no action) at passing the target species, and (4) habitat trade-offs.
Methods
used to estimate ecosystem benefits for fish passage/dam removal projects in
the
ROOM:
TRACK:
Ecosystem Restoration
TOPIC:
Models and Tools: Results
MODERATOR:
PRESENTATIONS:
Title: Applying the Ecosystem Functions
Model (HEC-EFM) at
Presenters: John Hickey, IWR-HEC; Jason Needham,
IWR-HEC
McCarran Ranch is a property of The Nature Conservancy,
which includes 305 acres along the
An application of the Ecosystem Functions Model (HEC-EFM)
for McCarran Ranch was developed by the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) in
collaboration with the Desert Research Institute. HEC-EFM is a planning tool that helps analyze
ecosystem response to changes in flow regime.
Two HEC-EFM relationships (cottonwoods and mayflies) were
developed and tested for pre- and post-restoration conditions. Analysis consisted of using EFM to identify
important flows and stages for the cottonwoods and mayflies, using HEC-RAS
(River Analysis System) and GeoRAS to produce maps of those flows, and finally,
using GIS to illustrate and quantify the effects of channel restoration.
Results indicate that cottonwood and mayfly habitat will be
reduced by the channel modifications made to the
Title: Planning and Analysis for the
Middle
Presenters: Lynette M. Giesen, Albuquerque District; Kelly A. Burks-Copes, ERDC
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Albuquerque District,
working in a truly collaborative setting, has developed ecosystem restoration
concepts and potential educational and recreational enhancements for the
In order to fully analyze the existing conditions and
develop viable alternatives, the Albuquerque District enlisted the expertise of
the Engineer Research and
Title: Clear Creek Watershed Flood
Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Study
Presenters:
Seth
Jones, Galveston District; Robert Heinly, Galveston District; Antisa C. Webb,
ERDC; Kelly A. Burks-Copes, ERDC
The Clear Creek watershed is approximately 47 miles long and
extends from the
Title: Restoration of
Presenters:
Amy
Guise, Baltimore District; Angela Sowers, Baltimore District; Stacey Blersch,
Baltimore District; Denny Klosterman,
Baltimore District.
The Mid-Chesapeake Bay Island Environmental Restoration
feasibility study is focused on restoring island habitat to provide hundreds of
acres of wetland and upland habitat for fish and wildlife through the
beneficial use of dredged material.
The study addresses two issues: (1) island habitat loss in
the middle Chesapeake Bay due to land subsidence, rising sea level, and wave
action, and (2) a shortfall of dredged material placement volume over the next
20 years.
Islands and their surrounding waters provide particularly
diverse habitats that are preferentially selected by many migratory birds, as
well as other fish and wildlife species.
Even though similar vegetative communities may occur on the mainland,
isolation, lack of human disturbance, and fewer predators make islands more
attractive.
Environmental benefits were quantified using Island
Community Units (ICUs), a metric developed for the study that focuses on the
functional communities that inhabit islands.
ICUs capture
the value of island habitat diversity and the benefits to the various
communities in order to evaluate proposed island alignments and habitat
distributions. Habitats evaluated
include areas for submerged aquatic vegetation or shallow water, intertidal,
low marsh, high marsh, and uplands, as well as various upland
to wetland ratios.