IP045 (COL-1122-070730) Fish Habitat Use and Chemical Contaminant Exposure at Restoration Sites in Commencement Bay, Washington.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Johnson, L¹, Olson, O¹, Ylitalo, G¹, Rice, C¹, Collier, T¹, ¹ NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Environmental Conservation Division, Seattle, WA, USA
Commencement Bay, WA was the first Superfund site designated in marine waters of the United States. Under the NRDA process, several sites have been subject to restoration activities; of these, seven sites were sampled in 2002 and 2003 for fish assemblage composition, sediment chemistry, and tissue and stomach content residue analysis in selected species (Chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon, and Pacific staghorn sculpin). Sampling showed that all sites were being utilized by fish species, with differences in assemblage which largely reflected the different habitat types. Species richness as well as total number of fish captured increased from spring to maximum values in early summer. There was evidence of chemical contamination in fish and sediments from all sites. Sediments at all sites were contaminated by PAHs at concentrations above sediment cleanup goals, and DDTs were unexpectedly high at one site, with evidence of a relatively fresh source of DDT. Body burdens of PCBs in juvenile Chinook and chum salmon from two sites were at threshold concentrations associated with adverse effects in salmon. These results raise interesting questions regarding restoration of small sites in a larger Superfund site undergoing remedial activities.

IP047 (WEP-1118-635712) Remediation and Restoration Approach for the Lower Passaic River, New Jersey.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Weppler, P¹, Baron, L², ¹ US Army Corps of Engineers, NY District, NY, NY, USA² New Jersey Department of Transportation, Office of Maritime Resources, Trenton, NJ, USA
Restoration of urban rivers presents fundamental challenges because of the complexity of these highly industrialized degraded ecosystems. Restoration strategies need to recognize and then restore the system as a whole (structure, function and dynamics) in a comprehensive manner. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with the project sponsor, Office of Maritime Resources/New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are developing a holistic watershed based solution for the Lower Passaic River. The river has a long history of industrialization, which has resulted in degraded water quality, sediment contamination, loss of wetlands, and abandoned or underutilized properties along the shore. This comprehensive, cooperative study provides an integrated approach for achieving remediation and restoration in order to fulfill the diverse utopian visions for the future of the river. This study is also one of the pilot projects under the interagency (USACE/EPA) Urban River Restoration Initiative to cooperatively and concurrently remediate and restore highly urbanized contaminated sites throughout the US. The plan must result in successful ecosystem restoration resulting in ecological and human health risk reduction, improved aquatic and upland habitat, wetland creation and enhancement, decreased contaminant loading in the harbor, decreased cost of harbor navigational dredging and economic revitalization of the region.

IP048 (HEL-1117-578611) NRDA Associated Restoration Projects: Successes and Progress.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Helm, R¹, ¹ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR, USA
In Hawaii, American Samoa, and the coastal states of western North America, the Natural Resource Trustees (various Tribes and Federal and State agencies) have successfully resolved about 40 natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) cases involving the release of oil or hazardous substances. During the past 10 years, the Trustees have begun numerous restoration projects from these settled NRDA cases. This presentation will provide quick views of many of our numerous ongoing NRDA restoration projects. The focus of the presentation will be on restoration actions designed to: 1) restore seabird colonies and vegetation on offshore islands; 2) restore riparian streams, wetlands, and intertidal habitats; and 3) provide a significant public education component in association with the physical restoration efforts. Specific restoration techniques that will be discussed include: physical barrier removals, planting and seabird recolonization efforts, and removal of exotic species and human debris. For projects with a multi-year track record, the methods used to measure progress will be discussed along with the successes achieved and challenges encountered.

IP049 (DES-1118-412960) Restoring Human Use Services: The Case of the Fox River.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Desvousges, W¹, MacNair, D¹, ¹ Triangle Economic Research, Durham, NC, USA
This poster will describe the research underlying the settlement of the human use claims between Georgia Pacific and the state and Federal Trustees on the Fox River in WI. The settlement represents one of the most recent and significant natural resource damage settlements. It involves the use of compensatory restoration approaches to evaluate potential recreational fishing losses in the Fox River and Green Bay and to scale the gains from potential restoration projects. The scaling uses data from more than one thousand fishing fishing trips and trade off information from several thousand survey responses. The data were collected from a random sample of anglers in WI and were collected over the course of the fishing season. The restoration projects included in the settlement ranging from enhanced trails near the Fox River to improved boating and fishing facilities. The poster will describe the process used to evaluate and select the ultimate restoration projects. The cost of the restoration projects was approximately $6 million.

IP050 (KRE-1117-811607) Restoration through Cooperation: A Wetland Restoration Project on the Mispillion River in Delaware.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Rizzo, A¹, Krest, S¹, Gouguet, R², Stahl, R³, Biggs-Sanger, J⁴, Knight, P⁵, Nicholson, M³, Bayne, B⁶, ¹ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Annapolis, MD, USA² NOAA, Seattle, WA, USA³ DuPont, Wilmington, DE, USA⁴ State of Delaware, New Castle, DE, USA⁵ NOAA, Philadelphia, PA, USA⁶ URS Corporation, Blue Bell, PA, USA
A pigment manufacturing site operated in Newport, New Castle County, Delaware for approximately 80 years. Waste materials (primarily ores) from the operations were landfilled on two portions of the site bordering the Christina River. Waste material migrated through runoff to the surrounding wetlands (North and South) and the River. Contaminants of concern (COCs) at the Site were primarily lead, cadmium, and zinc. In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added this Site to the National Priorities List (NPL). The Site was remediated between 1996 and 2002. Upon completion, the Trustees (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA; the Department of the Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)) and DuPont entered into a cooperative natural resources damage assessment. A Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) was conducted to determine compensation for resource injuries. Negotiations continued through 2005 during which 40 potential restoration projects were considered. The preferred alternative is located along a historically channelized reach of the Mispillion River between Kent and Sussex Counties in Delaware. This 38-acre privately-owned property includes an extensive tidal wetland complex with river bank erosion, substantial sedimentation of a former river meander (oxbow) and low marsh that is becoming overgrown by an invasive plant (Phragmites). Restoration activities include: 1) the stabilization of 2,090 feet of river bank; 2) limited hydraulic excavation to restore tidal exchange within the oxbow and enhance fish habitat within existing marsh ponds; 3) Phragmites control; and 4) placing a conservation easement on the property to ensure long-term protection of this high quality habitat. These restoration activities provide adequate compensation for the injuries sustained at the Superfund Site.

IP051 (BOO-1117-819783) Dam Removal as Out-of-Kind Compensatory Restoration for CERCLA Releases: The Case of Twelvemile Creek/Lake Hartwell, SC.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Booth, P¹, Harman, W², ¹ Exponent, Bellevue, Washington, USA² Buck Engineering, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Schlumberger is working together with federal natural resource trustees and trustees for the states of South Carolina and Georgia to implement compensatory restoration projects designed to offset lost human and ecological services potentially associated with the release of PCBs into Twelvemile Creek and Lake Hartwell. The preferred restoration alternative to compensate for ecological losses is the removal of two impoundments and associated stream corridor restoration in Twelvemile Creek. Dam removal is expected to restore the hydrology of lower Twelvemile Creek to a free-flowing lotic system, which in turn will restore natural sediment transport, improve bedform diversity, enhance diversity and abundance of fish, invertebrate, and aquatic plant populations, provide fish passage, and provide better opportunities for river based recreation. Dam removal will also speed the EPA remedy of monitored natural recovery by enhancing the transport of uncontaminated sediment through the Twelvemile Creek system and speed the burial of contaminated sediment in Lake Hartwell. The project entails dredging sediments behind the two dams, dismantling each dam, and implementing natural channel design concepts to ensure long-term stream stability. Project enhancements may include constructing in-stream structures for stability and habitat, establishing erosion and run-off controls (emphasizing biological rather than mechanical controls), and planting native vegetation. This poster will present an overview of the NRDA and illustrate service flows potentially affected by the release, service flows restored by dam removal and stream corridor restoration, and natural channel design concepts.

IP052 (WIL-1117-637171) Restoration of freshwater coastal wetlands along Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron.
Start time: 1:50 PM
Williams, Lisa¹, Lercel, Barbara², Medved, Joseph³, Booth, Pieter⁴, Tomka, Michael⁵, ¹ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, East Lansing, Michigan, USA² Michigan Department of Natural Resources, St. Charles, Michigan, USA³ Exponent, Inc., Lapeer, Michigan, USA⁴ Exponent, Inc., Bellevue, Washington, USA⁵ Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Natural resource trustees and private parties worked together to restore coastal wetlands along Saginaw Bay following a settlement for natural resources damages resulting from injuries to migratory birds and other wildlife and for lost recreational fishing opportunities because of fish consumption advisories caused by PCBs. As part of the settlement with the potentially responsible parties (PRPs), the State of Michigan acquired ownership of 13 parcels adjacent to Saginaw Bay ranging from 10 to 280 acres in size. Four of these parcels, totaling 391 acres, consisted of land that had been drained for agriculture and were specifically selected for their restoration potential by the technical work group. The work group, which included representatives from both the trustees and the PRPs, as well as other experts, worked collaboratively to implement the terms of the settlement. Restoration plans and activities strived to enhance natural processes and communities. Hydrological connections to Saginaw Bay were restored on these parcels by removing existing dikes and pumps and breaking drainage tiles. Dikes on the upland sides of the parcels were built or enhanced when necessary to protect adjacent land from inundation during times of high water levels in the bay. Because of early coordination, shared goals, and pragmatic attitudes, the projects were completed within budget and ahead of the settlement schedule. The Michigan DNR is now managing the parcels for native vegetative communities.