EP 1165-2-1
30 Jul 99
limitations require the Corps to focus its restoration efforts on
those initiatives most closely tied to the Corps traditional mission
areas of flood control and navigation and its areas of expertise;
however, it is emphasized that collaborative efforts with other
agencies will allow limited appropriations to be focused in areas of
identified ecosystem restoration need. Generally, it will not be
appropriate for the Corps to conduct ecosystem restoration activities
on upland, terrestrial sites unless they are closely linked to water
and related land resources projects in the Corps Civil Works Program.
Ecosystem-based restoration will be authorized in the same manner that
flood damage reduction and navigation projects are authorized, i.e.,
by individual study authorities, by Congressional resolutions, or by
favorable studies initiated under Section 216 of the River and Harbor
and Flood Control Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-611). Ecosystem-based
restoration can also be pursued under Section 1135 of WRDA 1986,
and/or the authority of Section 204 of WRDA 1992 for the beneficial
use of dredged material, and/or Section 206 (Aquatic Ecosystem
Restoration) and Section 210 (Environmental Protection and
Restoration) of WRDA 1996 (See also paragraphs 19-22 through 19-35
below, ER 1105-2-100, and the current guidance on Section 1135,
Section 204, Section 206 and Section 210, respectively).
19-4. Restoration and the Ecosystem Approach. Corps activities to
meet natural resource restoration and stewardship objectives will be
conducted using an ecosystem approach while maintaining the
traditional Corps watershed focus on water and related land resources.
An ecosystem is a dynamic and interrelated complex of plant and animal
communities, including humans, and their associated non-living
environment. Ecosystems occur at spatial scales that range from local
through regional to global. Restoration is the process of
implementing measures to return a degraded ecosystem's functions and
values, including its hydrology, plant and animal communities, and/or
portions thereof, to a less degraded ecological condition. The goal
of restoration is to return the study area to as near a desired
natural condition as is justified and technically feasible.
Consideration of ecosystems within (or encompassing) a watershed
provides a useful organizing tool to approach ecosystem-based
restoration planning as watersheds are physically and hydrologically
distinct. The ecosystem approach consists of restoring and/or
protecting the structure and function of an ecosystem, or parts
thereof, recognizing that all its components are interrelated. The
ecosystem approach also recognizes and seeks to address the problems
of habitat fragmentation and the piecemeal restoration and mitigation
efforts that have been previously applied in dealing with the Nation's
natural resources. Further, the ecosystem approach also recognizes
that existing and planned infrastructure is a legitimate feature of
the human environment and should co-exist and benefit (restore and
protect) the natural features of the ecosystems in which they are
placed. Projects should also be conceived and operated in a more
comprehensive, holistic context. This means including the activities
of other Federal, state, tribal and local agencies and considering
aquatic (including marine and estuarine), wetland and closely
associated terrestrial complexes, in order to provide the potential
for long-term survival as productive and sustainable ecosystems. In
recognition of the principles of the ecosystem approach the Corps,
along with 13 other Federal agencies, signed a MOU "To Foster the
Ecosystem Approach" in December of 1995. The MOU states it is the
policy of the Federal Government to " ... provide leadership in and
cooperate with activities that foster the ecosystem approach to
natural resource management, protection and assistance. Federal
agencies will use their authorities in a manner that facilitates an
ecosystem approach. Consistent with their authorities, Federal
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