Nature-Based Solutions

Investing in nature isn’t limited to our public lands, it can be in your own backyard! Nature-based solutions are a way to solve problems by using nature as tool. They can bring the outdoors to you to make your communities safer, healthier, and greener. It’s a win-win!

Nature-based solutions can look like:

RESTORING ecosystems like wetlands, oyster reefs, and coral reefs that buffer coastlines from waves and storms.
CONSERVING landscapes, like forests, wetlands, and tundra, that store carbon dioxide and provide benefits to human communities.
BUILDING natural structures to take advantage of their functions, like constructing log jams and rock dams to create fish habitat and recharge watersheds; building urban greenspaces to cool cities; and planting tree trenches to filter stormwater runoff in cities and agricultural fields.

The USGS researches the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and informs decision-making about when and where to invest in these projects.