Restored

California turns 67 acres of former farmland into wetlands and grasslands; restored Carr Lake landscape opens September 20

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California turns 67 acres of former farmland into wetlands and grasslands; restored Carr Lake landscape opens September 20

The project is designed to recreate a historic wetland landscape that existed in the area more than a century ago California is turning 67 acres of land once used for agriculture into a restored floodplain with wetlands, grasslands and public trails. The restoration area at Ensen Community Park in Salinas is being developed by Big … Read more

In 2010, Anderson Cooper paid $4.3 million for a 1906 New York firehouse; he restored its historic exterior and turned the 8,240-sq-ft building into a home while preserving its fire pole

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In 2010, Anderson Cooper paid $4.3 million for a 1906 New York firehouse; he restored its historic exterior and turned the 8,240-sq-ft building into a home while preserving its fire pole

When Anderson Cooper bought a historic former fire patrol house in New York’s Greenwich Village for $4.3 million in 2010, the purchase raised concerns among local preservationists, according to contemporary reporting by DNAinfo and the Village Preservation Society. The four-storey building at 84 West 3rd Street had spent decades as a working Fire Patrol station, … Read more

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