Through a wide array of initiatives, the Corps environmental program is improving our nation's rivers by helping to:

• protect and restore river habitats;
• increase connectivity between rivers and nearby lakes or wetlands;
• restore floodplains and associated wetlands;
• re-establish natural river flows; and
• achieve other important environmental objectives.

An excellent example of the Corps’ efforts is the Sustainable Rivers Project. Through this program, the Corps is working in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to preserve and restore rivers in over 13 states. The program grew out of an ongoing successful effort to restore Kentucky's Green River, which is the nation's fourth most diverse river for fish and mussels. By changing how water is released from the Green River Dam to more closely mimic natural conditions, the project is encouraging fish and mussel spawning, and providing other significant benefits to plants and animals downstream while continuing to meet the needs of area residents. Similar activities are underway at the other Sustainable Rivers Project sites. For more information, click Sustainable Rivers Project below to read about the project.

Some of the Corps largest ecosystem restoration projects in 2010 involved rivers, including the Columbia River Fish & Wildlife Mitigation project, Missouri River Fish & Wildlife Mitigation project, and the Upper Mississippi River Restoration project. Corps personnel also keep environmental considerations at the forefront of their thinking as they undertake the dredging and construction projects that are so crucial to keeping our nation's rivers safe for navigation.

The Corps manages over 400 lakes and their associated lands nationwide. We are dedicated to caring for these wonderful natural resources by:

• preserving and restoring habitats for plants, fish and wildlife;
• protecting rare, endangered and threatened species;
• operating fish hatcheries and wildlife refuges in cooperation with state agencies; and
• monitoring water quality.

An example of these efforts in action is an innovative pilot program through which the Corps and seven other federal agencies are working to "reinvent" over 30 lakes nationwide by involving area residents in Citizen Focus Groups that actively participate in lake management. Several of these lakes are Corps-managed. Together, the Corps and these focus groups are assessing environmental and economic challenges affecting the lakes and developing innovative solutions to address them. This includes streamlining processes and procedures in order to speed progress in achieving goals. Emphasis is placed on cooperative efforts between federal agencies and others interested in federal lakes.

For instance, at Lake Ouachita in Arkansas, the Corps is part of a cooperative effort involving the Arkansas Watershed Advisory Group. This effort is aimed at developing a watershed approach to lake management. Projects to date have included workshops on aquatic vegetation, watershed management and marine sanitation, and the introduction of new legislation pertaining to marine sanitation. Successful pilot projects will serve as role models for nationwide improvement efforts on federal lakes.

Learn more about recent Corps environmental activities associated with lakes. Learn more about the Corps integrated approach to water resources management related to lakes.

Wetlands are often called the nurseries of life because they provide a rich mix of nutrients, insects and plants that make them ideal nesting, resting, feeding and breeding grounds for many different types of creatures. Over a third of all federally listed rare and endangered species live in or depend upon wetlands. In addition, wetlands control flooding, improve water quality and serve as rest stops for migratory birds.

Through its ecosystem restoration and regulatory programs the Corps:

• protects and preserves existing wetlands;
• restores degraded wetlands; and
• creates new wetlands.

An example of these efforts is the Vic Fazio Yolo Wildlife Area in California. The Corps restored wetlands in this area lost during the creation of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project and Yolo Bypass floodway system. The goal was to restore wetlands while meeting flood control, agricultural and wildlife objectives. This cooperative restoration project involved more than 20 organizations and resulted in the largest wetlands restoration (3,700 acres) in the western United States and has recently expanded to 16,000 acres.

Another example is the Barataria Bay Waterway Wetland Restoration on Queen Bess Island in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Erosion had caused the island to shrink dramatically. The island was losing nearly an acre per year. This ultimately led to a reduction in size from 45 to 17 acres, which increased the frequency of storm-induced overwash, degrading the island's role as a crucial nesting habitat for Louisiana’s state bird, the endangered brown pelican. Using maintenance-dredged sediments from the adjacent Barataria Bay Waterway, the Corps enlarged the island. An additional nine acres of vegetated wetland were created.

Learn more about recent Corps environmental activities associated with wetlands. Learn more about the Corps integrated approach to water resources management related to wetlands.

The fragile ecosystems in our nation's coastal areas are in peril from development and storms. The importance of protecting our nation's coasts grows each year as more and more Americans move to coastal areas. According to 2000 census data more than 54 percent of Americans live within 50 miles of a coast.

To help address this challenge the Corps has joined as a major partner in Coastal America, a coalition of 13 federal agencies and many state, local and private organizations that are working together to address environmental problems along the nation's coasts. The Corps has been the lead agency on many of the nearly 400 completed projects recognized by Coastal America.

The Corps also is involved in a number of other coastal protection and restoration projects aimed at:

• preserving and restoring coastal wetlands and estuaries;
• reducing shore erosion; and
• restoring beach habitat and oyster beds.

For example, the Corps is proud to be a key partner in the Coastal Louisiana project. This monumental effort seeks to restore and protect Louisiana's coastal wetlands, which are being lost at a rate of 25 to 35 square miles per year. These wetlands provide valuable habitat for a wide variety of fish, birds and other wildlife and offer important commercial, recreational, cultural, and physical benefits.

Their loss threatens not only enormous ecological productivity, but also the billion-dollar Gulf of Mexico seafood industry; the city of New Orleans and many other urban, industrial, and agricultural areas that rely on the wetlands as natural protection from hurricanes and storm damage; winter habitat for 70 percent of the Nation's waterfowl; a multi–billion dollar a year oil and gas industry; and the Nation's largest port complex, which passes about 16 percent of our waterborne commerce. The ongoing investigation of this project was one of the Corps largest ecosystem restoration projects in 2010.

Learn more about other recent Corps environmental initiatives associated with coasts. Learn more about the Corps integrated approach to water resources management related to coasts.

In recent years, the Corps has moved toward a watershed approach to water resources management. This approach integrates understanding and consideration of aquatic resource interactions with planning, development, and management actions across broad regions. A watershed is an area of land within which all surface waters flow to a single point. It encompasses the area necessary to adequately analyze and manage related land and water resources. Watersheds may be as small as a few acres or larger than several states.

The watershed approach is exemplified by work taking place on the Des Plaines River, which starts in southeast Wisconsin and flows south into northeast Illinois. The river has a long history of flooding that has caused significant economic losses. Working with a broad cross-section of stakeholders the Corps is helping identify options to reduce flood damages on the river and its tributaries while also addressing environmental restoration and protection, water quality, recreation and related issues.

Rivers

Smelt Hill Dam

In 2002 the Corps removed the Smelt Hill Dam from the Premsumpscot River near Falmouth, Maine. The removal of the dam will improve water quality, restore natural habitats and improve fish passages on the seven miles of river that run from Falmouth to Westbrook.

A variety of migratory fish including 14,000 shad, 150,000 alewifes, and 78,000 blueback herring will now be able to pass upstream. In addition, many small streams and feeder branches are now available for spawning and foraging. Wildlife also will benefit from the abundant food supply.

Most of the material removed from the dam, powerhouse and other structures was used on site to re-establish the right bank of the river. The removal project received a 2003 Partnership Award from Coastal America.

Cougar and Blue River Dams

Another recent project involved the Cougar and Blue River Dams, which are located in Oregon about 40 miles east of Eugene on the South Fork McKenzie River and Blue River. These dams are operated for flood control, navigation, irrigation, and power generation. Both were built in the 1960s, at a time when the environmental impact of dams was not well understood. In recent years, it has become clear that the system used for drawing water from the reservoirs has changed downstream water temperatures, making that stretch of the McKenzie less hospitable to spring chinook salmon and bull trout, now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Corps completed interim changes to the dams to address these concerns, and plan to implement a long-term solution to improve the rate of juvenile salmon passing through the dam to return to their spawning grounds in the ocean. On May 18, 2005, the intake tower at Cougar Dam became operational to provide temperature control on the South Fork and main stem McKenzie rivers in Oregon. In 2010 the Corps opened the Cougar Dam Adult Fish Collection Facility; returns of wild adult spring Chinook salmon to the trap range between 250 to 525, with similar expectations of equal returns in the future.

Lakes

Lake Allatoona/Etowah River Watershed Study

The Corps is a key partner in the Lake Allatoona/Etowah River Watershed Study in Georgia, which is aimed at developing solutions to streambank and shoreline erosion, sedimentation, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat degradation, and other problems relating to ecosystem restoration and resource protection in the rapidly urbanizing 700,000-acre watershed.

Addressing these issues requires participation by other federal agencies, eight counties and numerous municipalities. The problems facing the watershed area are so widespread and varied in nature that no one approach at one location or set of actions by a single entity can provide the solution. The study is expected to produce an action plan for a coordinated effort to address these widespread challenges.

Coasts

New Jersey, Lower Cape May Meadows

Located along the southern Atlantic coast of New Jersey, Lower Cape May Meadows is an internationally significant coastal wetland situated along the Atlantic flyway that provides a vital resting spot for shorebirds, birds of prey, and songbirds during their seasonal migration. This area also provides important habitat for residential birds, mammals and amphibians.

The Meadows has been severely impacted upon by shoreline erosion, resulting in the direct loss of beach and unique freshwater wetland habitat. In addition to the actual loss of habitat acres, the erosion resulted in degradation of the remaining freshwater wetland habitat through saltwater intrusion and topographical changes. These conditions significantly reduced the ability of the wetlands to support the wildlife and endangered plant species that reside there.

The Corps worked with other key agencies to undertake an ecosystem restoration project at Cape May, which was completed on June 15, 2007. The project included berm and dune restoration and improvements to the interior habitat. Interior habitat improvements included moving the existing shoreline seaward to reclaim 35 acres of eroded wetlands, eliminating 95 acres of nuisance Phragmites australis, planting 105 acres of emergent wetland vegetation, creating fish reservoirs, restoring water flow between ponds, creating 25 acres of tidal marsh, and installing two water control structures. Post-project activities include beachfill operations, which were completed in 2017, and periodic nourishment cycles.

Sagamore Marsh

Another recent Corps coastal project is the restoration of Sagamore Marsh in Massachusetts. The ecological value of this estuarine habitat had declined significantly over the years. The Sagamore Marsh Restoration project was designed to restore 50 acres of tidal marsh estuarine habitat at this site. The project replaced the original culvert with two 6-foot wide reinforced concrete box culverts under each road, installed electric sluice gates, and updated the man-made channel, deepening the channel and widened it from 4-feet to 12-feet.

Puget Sound Basin

The Corps also is working on a project to preserve and restore critical nearshore habitat in the Puget Sound Basin in Washington. Nine species listed as threatened or endangered inhabit this area. The Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement for the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project was completed in 2016. The project plan includes removing nearly 28,860 linear feet of tidal barriers, nearshore fill, and shoreline armoring and restoring the Duckabrush River Estuary, Nooksack River Delta, and North Fork Skagit River Delta. The project is projected to restore over 2,100 acres of degraded habitat and produce 716 average annual habitat units.

Wetlands

Central Valley Joint Habitat Venture

The Corps is proud to be one of the major partners in the Central Valley Joint Habitat Venture—a collaborative effort to protect and restore public and private wetlands and to secure adequate water to support 4.7 million migratory waterfowl in California. The valley has been identified as the most important waterfowl watering area along the Pacific Flyway.

Watersheds

Nueces River Basin

The Corps is helping to implement a watershed approach to control water flows in the Nueces River Basin in Texas. Water planning in Texas is decentralized to the regional level, so the Corps watershed approach provides a unique vehicle to address issues that cut across regions.

Competing upstream and downstream stakeholder groups have been convinced to cooperate in developing a plan that will seek to downplay rivalries and find mutually acceptable solutions that will help maintain water flows at appropriate levels to protect environmental habitats that house many endangered species.