Integrating Nature-Based Solutions into Risk Assessment and Investment Strategies
This much needed research will work to integrate nature-based solutions (NBS) into risk science and insurance. The research, conducted in partnership with the University of California Santa Cruz, Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR), aims to bridge gaps between risk management, insurance, and conservation by identifying opportunities for practical science and action. The first completed […]
Integrating water resources infrastructure with agricultural land management to advance nature-based solutions for water quality
This project aims to harmonize water resources infrastructure, such as reservoirs and levees, with agricultural land management across the U.S., presenting nature-based solutions for improved water quality. Our objectives include identifying potential integration areas, modeling at least one such system based on stakeholder preferences, testing a nature-based solution within the selected system, devising methods to […]
Testing Efficacy of Remote Sensing to Measure Multiple Environmental Benefits of Water Level Management: A Case Study at Wilson Lake, Kansas
Water level management (WLM) is an important management approach for many different benefits at reservoirs including threatened and endangered species (TES) management. Whooping Cranes (WHCR) are an endangered species that require shallow water depths (<18 inches), open spaces without nearby woody or tall vegetation, and a glide path free of obstructions for roost locations. Many […]
Methodology for Identifying and Enhancing Collaboration with Stakeholders on Water Resources Projects
Understanding the social and economic landscape is important for nature-based projects. Unfortunately, many standard USACE business practices present institutional obstacles for identifying stakeholders and learning about their roles in local and regional ecology. These include: the nature of USACE project development and execution; job mobility of personnel; treatment of stakeholder engagement as “other duties as […]
Sustainable, Tunable, and Bioreceptive Cementitious Materials for EWN® Infrastructure Solutions
This project proposes to develop innovative concretes with environmentally sustainable alternative binders that deliver excellent chemical and mechanical resilience with significantly increased biological compatibility for freshwater and marine shoreline environments. Laboratory evaluations of four alternative binding materials will assess their mechanical and chemical durability, referenced to conventional portland cement concrete, and correlate fine-scale analyses of […]
Island Creation and Stabilization Review and AdH Modeling to Develop Best Practices, Design Criteria, and Recommendations for Large Navigable River Island and Secondary Channel Management
Large navigable rivers have been modified in ways that channelize main channels and isolate off-channel aquatic areas to concentrate flow to create safe and efficient navigation channels. Channelization eliminates natural island forming processes and degrades existing island and secondary channel habitat. Concurrent levee building to reduce flood risks to agriculture and urban areas isolates seasonal […]
Utilizing EWN for Water, Sediment, and Contaminant Management in Agricultural Areas in the Midwest and Great Plains Regions
Extensive modifications of the landscape in the continental U.S. Great Plains and Midwest for agriculture has completely changed the hydrologic, sediment transport, and water quality characteristics of watersheds and streams in the regions. This has had profound effects on receiving water bodies downstream of extensively farmed areas: streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, with erosion/sedimentation, water […]
Operational Beach Management Practices to Encourage Resilient Dune Development
Operational Beach Management Practices to Encourage Resilient Dune Development is a project designed to encourage consistent communication between the scientific community and coastal regulatory agencies to ensure that best-performing methods of beach management are being executed. Given the variability in beach management practices and regulations from coastline to coastline, this study aims to consolidate this […]
Removing “Artificial” from Artificial Habitats: 3D Printing Natural Materials to Unlock Complex Nature-Inspired Infrastructure
Infrastructure design focusing solely on engineering functionality misses opportunities to realize natural resource enhancements to achieve additional economic, environmental, and social benefits. Traditional manufacturing generates geometrically simple structures that do not mimic natural geometries. The design freedom unlocked by 3D Printing (3DP) diverse synthetic and natural materials is ideal for mimicking natural aesthetics and rapidly […]
Big River Confluence Hydraulic and Ecosystem Dynamics
The pallid sturgeon is a federally endangered big-river fish species. It is the position of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (U.S. FWS) that over time, river training structures have adversely affected pallid sturgeon by impacting the quality and quantity of habitats to which the species is adapted (e.g., braided channels, irregular flow patterns, flood cycles, […]
