Wetland Restoration

ESA is a recognized national leader in wetland restoration planning and design, having completed more than 600 restoration plans and analyses of coastal, tidal, riverine, seasonal, transitional, and freshwater wetlands.

We pioneered some of the earliest wetland restoration projects in San Francisco Bay in the 1970s and, since then, have successfully implemented many complex, large-scale tidal marsh restorations and monitored post-restoration performance all along the West and Gulf Coasts. This experience enables us to anticipate potential issues, integrate multiple objectives, and build support from stakeholders and the scientific community.

PROJECT EXPERIENCE

• Dutch Slough Wetland Restoration  
• South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration
• Upper Devereux Slough Restoration
• Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project
• Colewort Creek Tidal Wetland Restoration

Our experts have published tidal wetland restoration design guidelines for San Francisco Bay and the Columbia River that are now widely used by restoration practitioners throughout the United States. We have also published a set of design guidelines for natural infrastructure approaches to flood and erosion management that are widely used across the restoration industry.

Related specialties and services:

• Blue Carbon assessments
• Construction observation and monitoring
• Design drawings and specifications
• Design specifications and construction bid packages
• Ecosystem restoration and enhancement planning
• Engineering design
• Environmental permitting and compliance 
• Feasibility studies
• Monitoring
• Multi-benefit flood risk reduction
• Planning and conceptual design
• Sea level rise and coastal hazards
• Sediment transport and geomorphology