Adapting Site Selection, Design, and Monitoring for Climate Change

Wetland and stream restoration projects aim to restore and enhance the functions of degraded historic aquatic resource functions. Project locations are initially identified based on available desktop data including NRCS soil surveys, USGS topoquadrangle maps, and LiDAR among other resources. Project locations are further vetted by using field assessments, evaluations, and surveys to ensure the project location is appropriate and suitable for restoration. During the process of identifying suitable project locations the local watershed is evaluated to adequately address hydrology coming into and exiting the project. However, the surrounding watershed has often been intensively modified by changes in land use over time following the degradation of the aquatic resource identified for restoration. Additionally, shifts in climate and weather since the aquatic resource was degraded create different environmental conditions in the areas where restoration projects are being implemented. To successfully restore and enhance these aquatic resources attention needs to be given to historic conditions as well as current and future conditions. It is critical to account for the evolution of the environment and climate as we select, design, and monitor these projects to ensure they are successful during the monitoring phase and in perpetuity. As providers, engineers, scientists, regulators, and policy developers we need to identify challenges that climate change presents to projects and implement practices to ensure the longevity of these projects.