Restored

In 2024, New York turned 250 discarded Christmas trees into nearly 600 feet of breakwaters; by fall, the trees were trapping sediment around a restored salt marsh

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In 2024, New York turned 250 discarded Christmas trees into nearly 600 feet of breakwaters; by fall, the trees were trapping sediment around a restored salt marsh

What looked like holiday waste ended up helping rebuild a fragile salt marsh at Jamaica Bay, where the trees were turned into nearly 600 feet of natural breakwaters. In 2024, 250 discarded Christmas trees were repurposed into nearly 600 linear feet of natural breakwaters at New York’s Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, helping protect newly planted … Read more

A former fuel-tank farm beside an Alaska national park visitor center has been erased; a young conservation crew restored 15,000 square yards of landscape and built 500 feet of new trail

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A former fuel-tank farm beside an Alaska national park visitor center has been erased; a young conservation crew restored 15,000 square yards of landscape and built 500 feet of new trail

The project also created about 500 feet of new pedestrian trail, connecting the visitor center with the Lakeview Tinitun trail and the broader trail network. What was once a utilitarian patch of ground beside an Alaska visitor center is now becoming part of the landscape again. At Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, a young … Read more

An Indiana train depot built 144 years ago sat abandoned for decades; after a nonprofit bought it in 2023, the station is being restored as the centerpiece of a new railroad campus

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An Indiana train depot built 144 years ago sat abandoned for decades; after a nonprofit bought it in 2023, the station is being restored as the centerpiece of a new railroad campus

On a quiet corner in Steuben County, Indiana, a small brick train depot has stood watch over the tracks for 144 years. For much of the last half century, it watched in silence, its windows boarded, its platform empty, a relic of an era when railroads defined the rhythm of rural life. In 2023, a … Read more

After a 25-acre Lake Erie wetland was reconnected, sonar recorded 3.44 million fish detections over 2,022 monitoring hours across four years, showing the restored habitat was used continuously

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After a 25-acre Lake Erie wetland was reconnected, sonar recorded 3.44 million fish detections over 2,022 monitoring hours across four years, showing the restored habitat was used continuously

After a 25-acre Lake Erie wetland was reconnected A restored 25-acre coastal wetland on the southern shore of western Lake Erie was used continuously by millions of aquatic animals after it was reconnected to nearby waterways, according to a four-year acoustic monitoring study led by researchers at the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The scientific … Read more

In 2009, Washington removed a century-old dike and let tides reclaim 762 acres; 21 miles of channels reopened, and young Chinook salmon entered the restored marsh in their first migration season

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In 2009, Washington removed a century-old dike and let tides reclaim 762 acres; 21 miles of channels reopened, and young Chinook salmon entered the restored marsh in their first migration season

Tidal water flowed back into the Nisqually River Delta for the first time in nearly a century after conservationists removed a large network of sea dikes, quickly reopening miles of historic estuary habitat for threatened Pacific salmon. In autumn 2009, workers removed 4.5 miles of earthen dikes built in the early 1900s to turn the … Read more

A WWII-era training plane was packed into boxes in 1953; its owner carried the pieces through 3 moves for 50 years before the forgotten aircraft was finally restored

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A WWII-era training plane was packed into boxes in 1953; its owner carried the pieces through 3 moves for 50 years before the forgotten aircraft was finally restored

The restoration preserved some of the aircraft’s original components in unexpected ways. (Photo: Vintage Aviation News) A World War II-era training aircraft that spent nearly five decades packed away in boxes after its retirement, moving with its private owner from one place to another, has now been restored to airworthy condition.The WACO UPF-7, serial number … Read more

Built in 1881 and closed in 2004 over structural problems, a Smithsonian building restored for $55 million has finally been chosen for a permanent new life

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Built in 1881 and closed in 2004 over structural problems, a Smithsonian building restored for $55 million has finally been chosen for a permanent new life

The Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building in 2021. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) The Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents has officially chosen the historic Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall as the permanent home of the National Museum of the American Latino. The decision ends a long debate over the museum’s location and removes … Read more

Brazil’s polluted Rio mangroves were disappearing under waste; then local fishers restored 18.2 hectares and more than 60 animal species returned

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Brazil’s polluted Rio mangroves were disappearing under waste; then local fishers restored 18.2 hectares and more than 60 animal species returned

Local fishers collect waste from Guanabara Bay as part of a mangrove restoration and cleanup effort in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Decades of pollution, untreated sewage, industrial activity and waste have placed heavy pressure on the mangroves around Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay in Brazil. Yet in one of the bay’s remaining protected mangrove areas, … Read more

In 2020, Minnesota funded a $1.918 million Shell Rock River habitat program; by 2025, it had protected or restored 588 acres

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In 2020, Minnesota funded a $1.918 million Shell Rock River habitat program; by 2025, it had protected or restored 588 acres

Shell Rock River Watershed District (Image Credit: www.shellrock.org) In 2020, Minnesota approved $1.918 million for the Shell Rock River Watershed Habitat Restoration Program – Phase IX. According to a 2025 final report from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, the program ultimately protected, restored or enhanced 588 acres of habitat in the Shell Rock River watershed, … Read more