establish access points, etc. These types of activities can be
extremely costly, requiring extensive engineering and construction expertise. In many cases, to save cost and enhance
community support and involvement, volunteers are effectively used based on availability, interest, and training. In
general, the size and complexity of a project adds cost to
a project. Further, when extensive engineering is required
to prepare a site as well as maintain a site over the long term,
costs can escalate (Thom and Wellman, 1996). It is our
experience that when costs for planning, land acquisition,
implementation, maintenance, management, and monitoring are considered, habitat restoration project costs can
range widely (i.e., $10,000–$500,000 per ha).
Long-term habitat viability
In general, the goal of a habitat restoration effort is to create a system that is relatively stable, persistent, resistant,
and resilient. However, restoration of estuarine habitats
must be viewed within the context of landscapes changing naturally with time. The long-term viability of
a restored system is dependent upon a variety of factors
inherent to the system, including stability, persistence,
resistance, and resilience. Stability refers to systems that
essentially show no long-term variability (i.e., tendency
to move to another type of system). Persistence means
the enduring nature (or presence) of a certain characteristic of the habitat relative to the passage of time. Finally,
resistance and resilience, respectively, refer to the ability
of the system to withstand and recover from disturbances.
Owing to the buffering capacity associated with size of
a site and the development of stabilizing features such
as below-ground biomass of plants, larger, wellestablished habitats tend to be more stable, persistent,
resistant, and resilient.
Summary
Because of the substantial losses and growing realization
of the importance of estuarine habitats to endangered and
threatened species as well as ecosystem services for
humans, restoration of these habitats has been actively
pursued for about the past three decades in the United
States and other countries. The science of restoration
has shown that restoring habitats requires the ecosystem
(i.e., landscape) within which the habitats occur to be in
relatively good condition. Restoration actions can range
from simple restoration of hydrology to very active,
complex, and expensive activities, including removal
and reworking of sediments and elevations, removal of
invasive species, and remediation of contaminants.
Habitats can take from a few years to centuries to fully
develop depending on the type of habitat and the conditions in the landscape. Restoration can be implemented
by following a set of systematic steps. Stewardship
is generally required to ensure long-term restoration
projects success.
Primary information sources
To summarize this topic, we drew heavily from previously
published documents, including chapters in a book edited
by Kusler and Kentula (1990); a National Research Council report (NRC, 1992); chapters in a book edited by
Thayer (1992), Shreffler and Thom (1993), and Fonseca
et al. (1998); papers associated with a conference
(Hackney, 2000), chapters in a book edited by Zedler
(2001), the National Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Manual (Oregon Sea Grant 2002), Restore America’s Estuaries
(RAE) and NOAA (2002), Johnson et al. (2003), Thayer
et al. (2003), Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005),
and Thom et al. (2011a); papers associated with
a conference edited by McGraw and Thom (2011) and
Boesch (2006); and chapters in a book edited by Batzer
and Baldwin (2012) and Borde et al. (in preparation).
These documents present a synthesis of many published
and grey literature.
Links to estuarine habitat restoration programs
North America
• Long Island Sound (http://longislandsoundstudy.net/
research-monitoring/river-and-stream-bank-restorationtoolbox/restoration/)
• Chesapeake Bay (http://www.chesapeakebay.net/)
• Florida Everglades (http://www.evergladesplan.org/)
• Louisiana coast (www.coastalmasterplan.la.gov)
• San Francisco Bay-Delta (http://www2.epa.gov/sfbaydelta/bay-delta-action-plan)
• Columbia River Estuary (http://www.estuarypartnership.
org/our-work/habitat-restoration)
• Puget Sound (http://www.psp.wa.gov/ and http://www.
pugetsoundnearshore.org/)
Europe
• http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/emecs9/Presentations/
Monday/Salon%207-8/am/1055%20JP%20Ducrotoy.pdf
Bibliography
Adamowicz, S. C., and Roman, C. T., 2005. New England tidal
marsh pools: a quantitative analysis of geomorphic and geographic features. Wetlands, 25(2), 279–288.
Airame, S., Dugan, J. E., Lafferty, K. D., Leslie, H., McArdle, D. A.,
and Warner, R. R., 2003. Applying ecological criteria to marine
reserve design: a case study from the California Channel Islands.
Ecological Applications, 13(Supplement), S170–S184.
Batzer, D. P., and Baldwin, A. H., (eds.), 2012. Wetland Habitats of
North America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ball, I. R., Possingham, H. P., and Watts, M., 2009. Marxan and
relatives: software for spatial conservation prioritization. In
Moilanen, A., Wilson, K. A., and Possingham, H. P. (eds.), Spatial Conservation Prioritization: Quantitative Methods and
Computational Tools. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
pp. 185–195.
Bamford, D., Ye, Y., McGuinn, R., Stroh, C., Beard, S., Burkhalter,
S., Hadley, B., and Love, R., 2009. Habitat Priority Planner,
Version 2: Help Document. Charleston, SC: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Sciences
Center. South Carolina: Charleston.
ESTUARINE HABITAT RESTORATION
283
extremely costly, requiring extensive engineering and construction expertise. In many cases, to save cost and enhance
community support and involvement, volunteers are effectively used based on availability, interest, and training. In
general, the size and complexity of a project adds cost to
a project. Further, when extensive engineering is required
to prepare a site as well as maintain a site over the long term,
costs can escalate (Thom and Wellman, 1996). It is our
experience that when costs for planning, land acquisition,
implementation, maintenance, management, and monitoring are considered, habitat restoration project costs can
range widely (i.e., $10,000–$500,000 per ha).
Long-term habitat viability
In general, the goal of a habitat restoration effort is to create a system that is relatively stable, persistent, resistant,
and resilient. However, restoration of estuarine habitats
must be viewed within the context of landscapes changing naturally with time. The long-term viability of
a restored system is dependent upon a variety of factors
inherent to the system, including stability, persistence,
resistance, and resilience. Stability refers to systems that
essentially show no long-term variability (i.e., tendency
to move to another type of system). Persistence means
the enduring nature (or presence) of a certain characteristic of the habitat relative to the passage of time. Finally,
resistance and resilience, respectively, refer to the ability
of the system to withstand and recover from disturbances.
Owing to the buffering capacity associated with size of
a site and the development of stabilizing features such
as below-ground biomass of plants, larger, wellestablished habitats tend to be more stable, persistent,
resistant, and resilient.
Summary
Because of the substantial losses and growing realization
of the importance of estuarine habitats to endangered and
threatened species as well as ecosystem services for
humans, restoration of these habitats has been actively
pursued for about the past three decades in the United
States and other countries. The science of restoration
has shown that restoring habitats requires the ecosystem
(i.e., landscape) within which the habitats occur to be in
relatively good condition. Restoration actions can range
from simple restoration of hydrology to very active,
complex, and expensive activities, including removal
and reworking of sediments and elevations, removal of
invasive species, and remediation of contaminants.
Habitats can take from a few years to centuries to fully
develop depending on the type of habitat and the conditions in the landscape. Restoration can be implemented
by following a set of systematic steps. Stewardship
is generally required to ensure long-term restoration
projects success.
Primary information sources
To summarize this topic, we drew heavily from previously
published documents, including chapters in a book edited
by Kusler and Kentula (1990); a National Research Council report (NRC, 1992); chapters in a book edited by
Thayer (1992), Shreffler and Thom (1993), and Fonseca
et al. (1998); papers associated with a conference
(Hackney, 2000), chapters in a book edited by Zedler
(2001), the National Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Manual (Oregon Sea Grant 2002), Restore America’s Estuaries
(RAE) and NOAA (2002), Johnson et al. (2003), Thayer
et al. (2003), Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005),
and Thom et al. (2011a); papers associated with
a conference edited by McGraw and Thom (2011) and
Boesch (2006); and chapters in a book edited by Batzer
and Baldwin (2012) and Borde et al. (in preparation).
These documents present a synthesis of many published
and grey literature.
Links to estuarine habitat restoration programs
North America
• Long Island Sound (http://longislandsoundstudy.net/
research-monitoring/river-and-stream-bank-restorationtoolbox/restoration/)
• Chesapeake Bay (http://www.chesapeakebay.net/)
• Florida Everglades (http://www.evergladesplan.org/)
• Louisiana coast (www.coastalmasterplan.la.gov)
• San Francisco Bay-Delta (http://www2.epa.gov/sfbaydelta/bay-delta-action-plan)
• Columbia River Estuary (http://www.estuarypartnership.
org/our-work/habitat-restoration)
• Puget Sound (http://www.psp.wa.gov/ and http://www.
pugetsoundnearshore.org/)
Europe
• http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/emecs9/Presentations/
Monday/Salon%207-8/am/1055%20JP%20Ducrotoy.pdf
Bibliography
Adamowicz, S. C., and Roman, C. T., 2005. New England tidal
marsh pools: a quantitative analysis of geomorphic and geographic features. Wetlands, 25(2), 279–288.
Airame, S., Dugan, J. E., Lafferty, K. D., Leslie, H., McArdle, D. A.,
and Warner, R. R., 2003. Applying ecological criteria to marine
reserve design: a case study from the California Channel Islands.
Ecological Applications, 13(Supplement), S170–S184.
Batzer, D. P., and Baldwin, A. H., (eds.), 2012. Wetland Habitats of
North America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ball, I. R., Possingham, H. P., and Watts, M., 2009. Marxan and
relatives: software for spatial conservation prioritization. In
Moilanen, A., Wilson, K. A., and Possingham, H. P. (eds.), Spatial Conservation Prioritization: Quantitative Methods and
Computational Tools. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
pp. 185–195.
Bamford, D., Ye, Y., McGuinn, R., Stroh, C., Beard, S., Burkhalter,
S., Hadley, B., and Love, R., 2009. Habitat Priority Planner,
Version 2: Help Document. Charleston, SC: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Sciences
Center. South Carolina: Charleston.
ESTUARINE HABITAT RESTORATION
283