Restoration At Meaningful Scales: Challenges and Triumphs of Measuring the Outcomes of Coastal Habitat Restoration

As pressures on resources grow, ecosystem restoration practitioners are rising to the challenge of demonstrating ecologically meaningful outcomes at various scales, as well as the social and economic benefits of habitat restoration. It can be difficult to determine the “right” level of investment in measurement of project performance and ecological response. Scientists and project managers may struggle to determine what to measure or to define how much investment is enough. Over a hundred restoration projects that support coastal and marine species have been supported through a national partnerships between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  With Recovery Act funding awarded to eight TNC habitat restoration projects, we observed a wide array of approaches to monitoring including measuring “everything” to “a few manageable parameters”. In all cases, it took a collaboration of agencies, academics and other scientific and socio-economic expertise to develop and implement monitoring plans.  NOAA has been a leader in providing guidance on measures; especially those related to NOAA trust resources and project performance (fish production, habitat acres restored, etc.), but what does that tell you about ecosystem recovery? Recovery Act projects that focused on fish habitat, coral reef, and shellfish reef habitat restoration also illustrated the importance of focusing on social and economic outcomes.  Demonstrating over a short time period that these and other restoration projects “work”, and communicating results in accurate and meaningful ways will be the keys to garnering new and continued support for habitat restoration.