Estuarine environments are critical ecosystems that provide a transition area between fresh and saltwater and are rich in nutrients. Estuaries support an abundant array of life in our region – from plankton, plants, clams, crabs, salmon, orca, and birds, they are all sustained by estuaries. Being at the intersection of land and sea, estuaries are under intense pressure from overlapping with our built environment. NSD supports estuary restoration through conducting detailed geomorphic assessments, identifying risks and constraints including understanding future conditions with ongoing sea level rise, conducting modeling, and the development of informed and sustainable restoration or enhancement designs. These environments are dynamic by nature, so restoration design requires a complete understanding of the geological/geomorphic and ecological processes which we are highly knowledgeable of.
Our team has been working on Salish Sea estuaries for decades including Sound-wide mapping and climate change vulnerability analyses. We use these broad scale resources along with site specific data collection to develop engineered restoration designs to maximize habitat improvement for a broad range of species while reducing risk for adjacent properties and infrastructure.
