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Filters: Tags: {"scheme":"https://www.sciencebase.gov/vocab/category/Economic%20Impacts/RestorationFocus"} (X) > partyWithName: Catherine M Cullinane Thomas (X)

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Using funds from an NRDAR settlement, FWS obligated $557,810 ($2011) to TNC of Massachusetts for the purchase of permanent conservation easements on approximately 200 acres of riparian lands along the Housatonic River in Salisbury, Connecticut. Conservation of riparian habitat will help to (1) protect water quality; (2) protect nesting habitat for migratory songbirds and other wildlife, including several rare and endangered plants, turtles, salamanders and dragonflies; and (3) maintain the scenic, agrarian character of the region. These efforts provide a beneficial tradeoff from the harm to the river and associated wildlife caused by historical polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contamination. Economic Impacts of...
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Background information.—On July 8, 2012, lightning ignited a fire on Bureau of Land Management-managed land on the Miller Homestead in Harney County, Oregon. High winds combined with unusually hot and dry conditions spread the fire through dry grass and sagebrush and 160,801 acres were burned before the fire was contained on July 24, 2012. In the aftermath, it was determined that ecological restoration was necessary since the majority of the fire occurred within prime habitat for sage-grouse, and the fire had burned with such severity that it removed vegetation down to bare soil. Without rehabilitation efforts, desirable vegetation would be unlikely to reestablish and the site would be open to invasion by noxious...
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Background information.—Historically, the Powell River supported abundant and diverse populations of freshwater mussels. In recent decades, mussel density and species richness have declined and many freshwater mussel species are listed as either State or Federally threatened or endangered species. Environmental degradation from coal mining has been identified as one of the drivers of this decline. An example is the 1996 Lone Mountain slurry spill that directly affected mussel populations, as well as their host fish species. Freshwater mussels feed by filtering small particles from water, thereby improving water quality and providing an essential ecosystem service in rivers and streams. Mussels also serve as a food...
Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Aquatic, Aquatic species propagation, Bank stabilization/erosion control, Broadleaf, Conservation easement, All tags...
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The Anacostia Watershed lies within the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, and is one of the most urban watersheds within the basin. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the watershed spans over 175 square miles between Maryland and the District of Columbia and is considered by many to be one of the most degraded waterways in the United States. Watts Branch is a tributary stream of the Anacostia River, and flows into the Potomac River which eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay. In 2010, several partnerships were formed to restore a section of the Watts Branch stream and riparian area. The restoration efforts were focused on a highly polluted 1.8 mile stretch of the stream, running from the border of Prince...
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Background information.— The Powell and Clinch Rivers provide vital habitat for many forms of wildlife and are inhabited by one of the world’s richest and most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003). The rivers are also multiple-use recreation areas and a valuable water source that supplies water for the residents of Lee County, Virginia. The Lone Mountain coal slurry spill released sediment and hazardous substances affecting water quality and impacting 12 Federally listed mussels and critical habitat for 2 Federally listed fish. Fish and mussel habitat depends on the riparian habitats surrounding the river. In order to recover lost fish and mussel habitat, the Lone Mountain...
Categories: Project; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corp, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corp, Aquatic, Bank stabilization/erosion control, Bank stabilization/erosion control, All tags...
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Background information. The South Canyon project area consists of 121,000 acres within the Upper Sevier River Watershed in southern Utah. This watershed is ranked as a high priority for restoration because of degraded riparian and upland vegetation and erosion, the presence of hazardous fuels placing communities at increased risk of wildfire, and degraded greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat because of the expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper. In particular, this project was designed to reestablish and maintain sagebrush semi-desert habitat, open travel corridors, and provide benefits to sage-grouse and mule deer within and immediately adjacent to the...
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Background information.—The Long Draw fire was ignited by a lightning strike on July 8, 2012 on land southwest of Burns Junction, Oregon. Within 2 hours, the fire had burned several thousand acres. By the time of containment on July 16, 2012, the fire had burned a total of 558,198 acres of land that had previously provided forage for livestock and wild horses and habitat for sage-grouse and other wildlife. As a consequence of this fire, the burned area faced the immediate risks of erosion and invasion by noxious weeds. The Bureau of Land Management’s Vale District responded to this threat with the Long Draw Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan, which is designed to ensure recovery and protection...
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Background information. This fuels reduction project, which was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Rio Puerco Field Office, consisted of woodland habitat restoration in the Zuni Mountains approximately 45 miles south of Grants, New Mexico. Topography of the landscape includes mesas and canyons, with north-facing slopes dominated by stands of ponderosa pine with an open, grassy understory. Like other places in the American West, pinyon and juniper have encroached into open meadows and stands of ponderosa pine, which is most likely because of the lack of a natural fire regime. This change to the wooded landscape has dramatically increased hazardous fuels buildup and the associated risk of wildfire,...
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Background information. The Duncan Creek restoration area is located in Iron County, Utah. This area provides important habitat for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and an increasing number of homes are located in the wildland-urban interface. Restoration efforts are focused on both habitat improvement and fire/fuels reduction. Restoration in this area is ongoing; this case study focuses on restoration activities that occurred primarily in 2012. During this period, restoration was accomplished on 2,080 acres of public and private lands. The project was funded by a variety of private, State, and Federal cooperators, including the Bureau of Land Management, Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, and...
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Background information.—The Pioche/Caselton Wildland-Urban Interface Project (WUI Project) was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management’s Ely District to reduce the threat of wildfire to the towns of Pioche and Caselton in southeastern Nevada. From 1980 to 2008, 149 wildfires were recorded near Pioche and Caselton and 9 of these fires each burned approximately 3,000 acres. In 2005, the Nevada Community Wildfire Risk/Hazard Assessment for Lincoln County determined that the risk of wildfire for the two towns was “extreme” (Resource Concepts, Inc., 2005). That report recommended implementing large fuels reduction treatments in order to reduce the risk of wildfire to Pioche and Caselton. In response, the Ely District...
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Background information. In the late 1800s through the early 1900s, nearly all of the area that is now the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Crab Orchard NWR) was either logged for timber or cleared and converted to other uses, particularly agriculture. By the 1930s, soils in the area were depleted and severely eroded. Additional clearing and development ensued with the establishment of the Illinois Ordnance Plant during World War II. In 2014, as part of the effort to restore Crab Orchard NWR lands to benefit wildlife, the refuge undertook the Hampton native prairie restoration project to convert a 62-acre nonnative cool-season hay field into a native warm-season grassland. The primary benefit of this restoration...
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For thousands of years, much of the San Luis Valley basin of south-central Colorado was made up of a series of lakes, marshes, and shallow playa basins that were integral to the lives of indigenous peoples. By the mid-1900s, the basins had dried up from the diversion of water sources for irrigation and became known as the “Dry Lakes.” In 1965, BLM began a series of wildlife habitat projects to restore some of the historic wetland characteristics and processes, and 9,600 acres of the former “Dry Lakes” area became known as Blanca Wetlands. BLM designated the Blanca Wetlands Area (BWA) as an “Area of Critical Environmental Concern” (ACEC) in 1991, due to its high importance for wildlife and recreational values. Today...
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The desert grasslands found within the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area (LCNCA) include some of the rarest habitats in the American Southwest and are home to six endangered species. These grasslands have degraded over the last 100 years into mesquite woodlands due to grazing practices, fire suppression policies, and the introduction of non-native plant species. The loss of grassland has encouraged erosion, reduced watershed function, and decreased available habitat for pronghorn antelope and other species. In 2009 and 2010, BLM implemented a grassland restoration project on over 3,000 acres, out of an identified 20,000 acres of degraded grassland found within the LCNCA. The project has removed mesquite trees...
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BLM has the ability to enter into “Stewardship Contracts” to make forests and rangelands more resilient to natural disturbances. The contracts allow companies and communities to retain forest and rangeland products in exchange for services like thinning trees and brush or removing dead wood. Long-term contracts foster a public-private partnership to restore forest and rangeland health at a savings to taxpayers by allowing contractors to invest in equipment and infrastructure for making wood products or producing biomass energy. The Gerber Stew Stewardship Contract was awarded in September 2004 to a firm based in Bend, Oregon to implement restoration treatments and projects in BLM’s Klamath Falls Resource Area....
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Background information. Characterized by a vast landscape dotted with sagebrush and juniper-clad foothills, the area surrounding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Burley Field Office in Idaho is home to a variety of species, such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), antelope (Antilocapra americana), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), and pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). Many of these species depend on the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that was historically present in this region. Starting in the late 1800s with the Euroamerican settlement of the west, this sagebrush steppe ecosystem has been rapidly changing into woodlands dominated by Utah juniper (Juniperus...
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Migrating shorebirds and waterfowl are so dependent on the food supply and stopover estuary habitat in the lower Coquille River that Congress established Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (OR) in 1983. Through congressionally approved expansion, acquisition, and donation, the Refuge now encompasses 889 acres and is composed of two units: Bandon Marsh and Ni-les'tun (named by the Coquille Tribe and pronounced NYE-les-ton, which means People by the small fish dam). Historically, Ni-les’tun was a diverse tidal wetland like Bandon Marsh but was diked and drained for agricultural purposes beginning in the mid to late 1800s. Restoring 418 acres of the tidal marsh has required FWS and its many partners to collaborate...
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Background information. The South Beaver area encompasses 145,000 acres in Beaver County in southern Utah and contains public, State, and private lands. The area is crucial mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter habitat, and it contains important elk (Cervus elaphus) habitat and occupied sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2013). Nearby population growth and the construction of Interstate 15 have increased the importance of this area for wildlife, but the encroachment of pinyon and juniper have nearly eliminated any possible use of this area by sage-grouse and greatly reduced the amount of sagebrush and other forage available for deer and elk. Restoration in this area...
    map background search result map search result map Lone Mountain NRDAR Fresh Water Mussel Restoration Lone Mountain NRDAR Tipple Site Riparian Restoration and Outdoor Classroom Restoration Zuni Mountains Forest Restoration Project Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge NRDAR Prairie Restoration Color Country South Canyon Restoration Color Country Duncan Creek Restoration Color Country South Beaver Restoration Southern NV Public Land Management Act Pioche/Caselton Wildland Urban Interface Project Burley Landscape Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration Post-Wildfire Restoration in Southeast Oregon - Miller Homestead Fire Post-Wildfire Restoration in Southeast Oregon - Long Draw Fire Gerber Stew Stewardship Project Blanca Wetlands Restoration Las Cienegas Grassland Restoration Ni-les'tun Tidal Marsh Restoration Conservation Easements Along the Housatonic River Watts Branch Urban Stream Restoration Watts Branch Urban Stream Restoration Conservation Easements Along the Housatonic River Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge NRDAR Prairie Restoration Lone Mountain NRDAR Fresh Water Mussel Restoration Lone Mountain NRDAR Tipple Site Riparian Restoration and Outdoor Classroom Restoration Color Country South Canyon Restoration Color Country Duncan Creek Restoration Color Country South Beaver Restoration Blanca Wetlands Restoration Las Cienegas Grassland Restoration Zuni Mountains Forest Restoration Project Post-Wildfire Restoration in Southeast Oregon - Miller Homestead Fire Post-Wildfire Restoration in Southeast Oregon - Long Draw Fire Gerber Stew Stewardship Project Ni-les'tun Tidal Marsh Restoration Southern NV Public Land Management Act Pioche/Caselton Wildland Urban Interface Project Burley Landscape Sage Grouse Habitat Restoration