The success of any stream or wetland restoration project can be evaluated in many different ways. Was the project accomplished cost-effectively? Were the stakeholders satisfied with the outcome? Was the final work aesthetically pleasing? Did the project protect important infrastructure? Did the project result in increased recreational opportunities or community education? Did the project advance the state of the science?

Most importantly, the success of a restoration project must always be judged on whether the work was an ecological success.

For more than a decade, Trout Headwaters has been calling for national evaluation standards recognizing that progress in the science and practice of river and wetland restoration has been hampered by the lack of agreed-upon criteria for judging ecological success. Without well-accepted criteria that are ultimately supported by funding and acknowledged by regulatory agencies like the EPA and the Corps of Engineers, there is little support for practitioners assessing or reporting restoration outcomes. At  best, what exists today is a hodgepodge of hundreds of various assessment methods mixed in a sea shifting criteria.

Improving methods and weighing the ecological benefits of various restoration approaches will require organized national-level reporting systems. Standards of practice can lead to more consistent results, help promote public safety, and allow designers and practitioners to better manage and monitor project outcomes.  Ecological standards for success would enable the industry to better provide solid, sustainable and long-lasting benefits.  >Read More