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Restoration

The restoration of degraded ecosystems requires assessment throughout the restoration effort. This information is used to help direct resource management activities to support restoration. A focus of the California Water Science Center is research which contributes to the restoration of tidal wetlands. Expanding towns and cities have claimed major parts of California's tidal wetlands. Restoring these wetlands will have benefits for ecosystems that have declined during the last century. Successful efforts will also promote greater ecological health for the benefit of everyone.

Comparing Restored vs. Historic Salt Marshes

USGS Scientists taking sediment core at Six Gill Slough restored marsh.

California Water Science Center Research Hydrologist Dr. Judith Drexler and others have published an article in the journal Restoration Ecology, observing the progress of a restored salt marsh in southern Puget Sound, Washington.

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USGS Science Supports Environmental Restoration

Read how California Water Science Center reseach is helping to inform restoration efforts throughout the state.

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Delta wetland near Rio Vista, California.

Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion

Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs) are coastal ecosystems, such as tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses, with manageable and atmospherically significant carbon stocks and fluxes. The tidal marshes and scrub-shrub wetlands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) of California are examples of BCEs. The Delta is a 2,400 square kilometer tidal freshwater region located at the landward end of the...
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California Water Science Center
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Delta Wetlands and Resilience: Blue Carbon and Marsh Accretion

Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs) are coastal ecosystems, such as tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses, with manageable and atmospherically significant carbon stocks and fluxes. The tidal marshes and scrub-shrub wetlands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) of California are examples of BCEs. The Delta is a 2,400 square kilometer tidal freshwater region located at the landward end of the...
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A woman stands in the distance of a coastal wetland covered in pickleweed

A Prioritization Plan for Coastal Wetland Restoration on Moloka‘i

Wetland restoration on Moloka'i is needed to expand habitat for endangered species, improve ecosystem services, increase access to cultural resources including sedges for weaving, and increase opportunities for growing taro. The goal of this project is to assess the current status of wetlands on the island of Moloka‘i, evaluate potential impacts of projected sea level rise on these habitats, and...
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California Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center
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A Prioritization Plan for Coastal Wetland Restoration on Moloka‘i

Wetland restoration on Moloka'i is needed to expand habitat for endangered species, improve ecosystem services, increase access to cultural resources including sedges for weaving, and increase opportunities for growing taro. The goal of this project is to assess the current status of wetlands on the island of Moloka‘i, evaluate potential impacts of projected sea level rise on these habitats, and...
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Backhoe breaching Humboldt dike

The influence of geomorphology on sediment accretion and soil carbon development in a restored tidal wetland, White Slough, Humboldt Bay National Refuge, CA

Coastal vegetated habitats, such as tidal wetlands, play an active role in the global carbon cycle. This is done through the removal of CO2 by living vegetation through photosynthesis and by the decay of organic matter and its burial for hundreds to thousands of years.
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California Water Science Center
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The influence of geomorphology on sediment accretion and soil carbon development in a restored tidal wetland, White Slough, Humboldt Bay National Refuge, CA

Coastal vegetated habitats, such as tidal wetlands, play an active role in the global carbon cycle. This is done through the removal of CO2 by living vegetation through photosynthesis and by the decay of organic matter and its burial for hundreds to thousands of years.
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a photo of two milky-colored desert pupfish against a dark background

Investigation of Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions in Support of Ecosystem Management at San Sebastian Marsh, California

To help the U.S. Bureau of Land Management determine the long-term sustainability of the San Sebastian Marsh, and its critical role for the survival of the endangered desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius), the USGS is evaluating the potential interactions and relation between groundwater and surface water at the San Sebastian Marsh.
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California Water Science Center
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Investigation of Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions in Support of Ecosystem Management at San Sebastian Marsh, California

To help the U.S. Bureau of Land Management determine the long-term sustainability of the San Sebastian Marsh, and its critical role for the survival of the endangered desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius), the USGS is evaluating the potential interactions and relation between groundwater and surface water at the San Sebastian Marsh.
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concrete-lined river running through an industrial area

Continuous, Water-Quality Monitoring of the Los Angeles River

As part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) program, this project will bring enhanced water-quality monitoring to a stretch of the Los Angeles River slated for revitalization. The UWFP reconnects urban communities—particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed—with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies.
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California Water Science Center
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Continuous, Water-Quality Monitoring of the Los Angeles River

As part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) program, this project will bring enhanced water-quality monitoring to a stretch of the Los Angeles River slated for revitalization. The UWFP reconnects urban communities—particularly those that are overburdened or economically distressed—with their waterways by improving coordination among federal agencies.
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Drain carrying runoff from farm fields in Imperial Valley

Selenium Hazard in the Salton Sea Environment, Summary of Current Knowledge to Inform Future Science

The effect of selenium (Se) toxicity on wildlife has been known for more than 50 years. The threat of Se contamination gained greater attention from federal agencies in the 1980s due to the observation of embryo deformity and mortality in birds at a National Wildlife Refuge in California. Harmful effects from Se were determined to be connected to irrigation drainage water.As a result, an effort...
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California Water Science Center, Nevada Water Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Selenium Hazard in the Salton Sea Environment, Summary of Current Knowledge to Inform Future Science

The effect of selenium (Se) toxicity on wildlife has been known for more than 50 years. The threat of Se contamination gained greater attention from federal agencies in the 1980s due to the observation of embryo deformity and mortality in birds at a National Wildlife Refuge in California. Harmful effects from Se were determined to be connected to irrigation drainage water.As a result, an effort...
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Conceptual model of the proposed work.

High Resolution Temporal and Spatial Mapping of Mercury and Methylmercury in Surface Waters of the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta

Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of significant concern in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and watershed (Bay-Delta). The formation, fate, and transport of methylmercury (MeHg), a particularly toxic organic form of Hg that readily bioaccumulates in wildlife, has been studied extensively throughout the system. However, there is widespread recognition of the need for more comprehensive monitoring...
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California Water Science Center
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High Resolution Temporal and Spatial Mapping of Mercury and Methylmercury in Surface Waters of the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta

Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of significant concern in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and watershed (Bay-Delta). The formation, fate, and transport of methylmercury (MeHg), a particularly toxic organic form of Hg that readily bioaccumulates in wildlife, has been studied extensively throughout the system. However, there is widespread recognition of the need for more comprehensive monitoring...
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USGS scientists conduct boat-based mapping survey

Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta

Planned upgrades to the Sacramento Regional wastewater treatment plant (SRWTP) will substantially reduce nutrient discharge and also alter the types and amounts of nutrients being distributed across the San Francisco Delta and Estuary (Delta). One highly anticipated outcome of lower nutrients is improved productivity in the phytoplankton communities that supply aquatic food webs, which should...
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California Water Science Center
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Evaluating the effects of wastewater-derived nutrients on phytoplankton abundance and community structure in the San Francisco Estuary and Delta

Planned upgrades to the Sacramento Regional wastewater treatment plant (SRWTP) will substantially reduce nutrient discharge and also alter the types and amounts of nutrients being distributed across the San Francisco Delta and Estuary (Delta). One highly anticipated outcome of lower nutrients is improved productivity in the phytoplankton communities that supply aquatic food webs, which should...
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Scientist adjusts equipment mounted on tower at the Suisun Marsh in California.

Creating a Model to Predict Future Carbon Levels in Tidally-driven Marshes

Tidal marshes are important ecosystems in the San Francisco-Bay Delta. They remove carbon from the atmosphere, they build up soils that buffer our communities from sea level rise, they provide critical habitat and food resources for a diversity of species, and they reduce excessive nutrients which have a negative impact on water quality. As a result of land-use change and urbanization, the San...
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California Water Science Center
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Creating a Model to Predict Future Carbon Levels in Tidally-driven Marshes

Tidal marshes are important ecosystems in the San Francisco-Bay Delta. They remove carbon from the atmosphere, they build up soils that buffer our communities from sea level rise, they provide critical habitat and food resources for a diversity of species, and they reduce excessive nutrients which have a negative impact on water quality. As a result of land-use change and urbanization, the San...
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Nursery grown trees that will be replanted in forests

Researching Climate Conditions for CAL FIRE Wildfire Restoration Efforts

In California, drought and warmer climates have increased the prevalence, severity, and duration of wildfires. These fires have destroyed over 129 million trees. In the aftermath of this devastation, there is heightened urgency to increase the capacity of seedling production, particularly for the lower-elevation and private lands that CAL FIRE is responsible to help manage. To support CAL FIRE in...
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California Water Science Center
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Researching Climate Conditions for CAL FIRE Wildfire Restoration Efforts

In California, drought and warmer climates have increased the prevalence, severity, and duration of wildfires. These fires have destroyed over 129 million trees. In the aftermath of this devastation, there is heightened urgency to increase the capacity of seedling production, particularly for the lower-elevation and private lands that CAL FIRE is responsible to help manage. To support CAL FIRE in...
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Keno reach of the Klamath River

Sediment Mobility and Riparian Corridor Assessment, Klamath River, CA

The Klamath River is the third largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the continental U.S. The headwaters of the Klamath are located in the Cascade Range in southeastern Oregon and the river flows through northern California to its estuary. Beginning in the 1860s, the flow and water quality of the Klamath started to change due to the building of dams and other water diversions for...
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California Water Science Center
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Sediment Mobility and Riparian Corridor Assessment, Klamath River, CA

The Klamath River is the third largest river flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the continental U.S. The headwaters of the Klamath are located in the Cascade Range in southeastern Oregon and the river flows through northern California to its estuary. Beginning in the 1860s, the flow and water quality of the Klamath started to change due to the building of dams and other water diversions for...
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WAUSP Central Valley Aquifer photo 18

California's Central Valley

Competition for water resources is growing throughout California, particularly in the Central Valley. The Central Valley's population is expected to increase to 6 million by 2020. This population growth, along with anticipated reductions in Colorado River water deliveries, drought, and the ecological crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, have created an intense demand for water. The...
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California Water Science Center
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California's Central Valley

Competition for water resources is growing throughout California, particularly in the Central Valley. The Central Valley's population is expected to increase to 6 million by 2020. This population growth, along with anticipated reductions in Colorado River water deliveries, drought, and the ecological crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, have created an intense demand for water. The...
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