Location: Delaware
Client: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
EA served as a key subcontractor on a contract with the USFWS for design services at the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. The marsh restoration effort was one of the largest ever completed on the East Coast of the United States. The work involved restoring approximately 8,000 acres of damaged tidal marsh and dredging 21 miles of tidal channels. To support the project, EA conducted a background data review of documents related to previous work completed as part of the Prime Hook Tidal Marsh project; developed engineering and final design plans in support of USFWS’s submission of Sections 401, 404, and 10 Authorizations, NEPA, and other state wetland and waterway permit applications; performed a tidal marsh field investigation and corresponding report of findings and recommendations; developed final design plans and specifications for the dredging of tidal channels (and associated thin layer dispersion of sediment to increase marsh surface elevations); and provided USFWS with the added benefit of a final design plan for invasive species removal, inclusive of a comprehensive planting plan, utilizing data collected for the dredging of channels and the thin layer dispersion of sediment. The project was recognized as a national model for climate adaptation leadership at the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Annual Meeting. It received a 2019 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources.
