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SOIL HEALTH ASSESSMENT
In 2004, Iowa listed Easter Lake for murky water. 20 years later, restoration helped it meet water standards and park visits climbed from 500,000 to 1.3 million visitorsEaster Lake in Des Moines was listed as impaired in 2004 because sediment and cloudy water were damaging its quality. Two decades of restor...
In 2011, Colorado linked 90% of Lower Gunnison River selenium pollution to farming. 11 years later, farm work cut selenium by 50%, helping the river meet standards todayFor years, selenium from irrigated farmland posed a challenge for Colorado’s Lower Gunnison River. Irrigation can mobilize naturally occurr...
In 2021, 1,000 Swiss volunteers buried 2,000 pairs of cotton underpants to test soil life. 5 years later, results from 12,000 teabags showed which soils were most activeIn 2021, around 1,000 Swiss volunteers buried more than 2,000 pairs of cotton underwear and 12,000 tea bags in different soils. The experim...
In 2002, Kansas listed the North Cottonwood River for copper pollution. 12 years later, farm conservation helped lower copper from 14.1 to 3.5 µg/L and restore the riverNorth Cottonwood River restoration: Kansas listed the North Cottonwood River as impaired by copper pollution in 2002. Agricultural runoff w...
In 2016, Indiana found very poor fish health in 1.27 miles of Big Branch after years of pollution. 7 years later, its fish score reached 48 and the segment was clearedBig Branch’s recovery is ultimately a reminder that environmental restoration is often measured in years rather than weeks. The stream did ...
In 1994, Idaho listed Rapid Creek for sediment after grazing added excess sediment. 20 years later, 3 reaches were delisted after BMPs improved habitat and water qualityRapid Creek in southeastern Idaho was listed for sediment impairment in 1994 after assessments found that several streams did not support c...
In 2006, Delaware listed Broadkill River waters as impaired for nutrients. 18 years later, BMPs helped restore 7.6 miles of Ingrams Branch, bringing phosphorus levels below the state thresholdIngrams Branch in Delaware has reached an important water-quality milestone. The 7.6-mile stream segment was once impaired by excess phosph...
In 1913, lead turned Picher, Oklahoma, from farmland into a town of about 14,000; by 2010, only 20 residents remained, and chat piles covered parts of Ottawa CountyPicher, a small town in northeast Oklahoma, transformed into a mining hub after the lead and zinc discovery in 1913. However, this rapid gr...
In 1995, North Dakota's Richland County SCD began monitoring Antelope Creek for bacteria. 10 years later, a watershed project tackled septic, livestock and farm sources to cut bacteriaAntelope Creek and Wild Rice River saw reduced bacteria levels after conservation efforts. Best management practices addressed animal feedi...
In 2008, Minnesota listed Fish Lake as impaired for nutrients after severe algae blooms. 16 years later, the lake improved enough to be delisted after treatments and restorationThe 2008 impairment designation was an important step because it formally recognized that the lake was not meeting the desired water-qualit...
In 1998, New York listed Keuka Lake as impaired after DDT contamination. 16 years later, fish-tissue data led officials to remove the lake from the impaired waters listKeuka Lake DDT cleanup shows how a pesticide banned decades ago kept affecting fish through contaminated soil and runoff. The problem began...
In 2016, researchers restored 452 meters of Maryland's Muddy Creek with woodchips, sand and gravel. 2 years later, monitoring found suspended sediment fell 73.8%, improving stream functionMuddy Creek is a tributary of the Rhode River and flows through the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, an important site for ecolog...
In 2018, New York's Cortland County funded 3 culvert and stream projects. 5 years later, all 3 sites improved from severe barriers to insignificant barriers for better fish passageCortland County projects fit into a broader New York effort to identify and address barriers to aquatic organism passage. New York's Depart...
In 2018, scientists added up to 15 tons of cacao-shell biochar per hectare to degraded tropical soil; maize yields improved over several growing seasonsResearch indicates that using cacao-shell waste to create biochar has significantly improved agricultural yields on degraded farmland in Su...
Something is thawing beneath Alaska — and the price tag could be $43 trillionAlaska's tundra holds immense frozen carbon stores which are thawing. This thaw releases greenhouse gases, potentially causing significant ...
Thousands of US parks may sit dangerously close to toxic waste and chemical releases; researchers mapped more than 151,000 public parks to uncover the riskIn a comprehensive study, public parks and industrial sites in the United States were meticulously analyzed. Alarmingly, over half of these...
In the 1500s, European settlers brought pigs to North America as travelling food; more than 6 million feral swine now occupy at least 35 statesEuropean pigs introduced centuries ago became invasive feral swine across North America. These adaptable animals now inhabit diverse enviro...