Cedar Bayou

Harris County, Texas

In partnership with the USACE, Anchor QEA is developing an integrated feasibility study and environmental impact statement to evaluate excavation of a 45-foot-deep ship channel that will serve a container terminal at the mouth of Cedar Bayou.

Beneficial use of 20 to 40 million cubic yards of sediment material obtained from dredging the channel will develop nearshore and offshore placement areas. These restoration areas will support critical avian and aquatic habitat, while providing erosion protection to nearby shorelines.

Tijuana Estuary

San Diego, California

The largest coastal wetland in Southern California, Tijuana Estuary is an essential stopover point on the Pacific Flyway for more than 370 species of migratory and native birds, including six endangered species.

The tidally influenced estuary consists of nearly 2,300 acres of habitat and is subject to flood sedimentation from trans-border canyon flows from Mexico. Anchor QEA’s comprehensive design includes characterization, hydrodynamic modeling, dredging, and excavation of more than 600,000 cubic yards of sediment. Beneficial use techniques are applied for beach nourishment, dune creation, and quarry restoration on more than 87 acres within the estuary.

Elliott Bay Habitat Enhancements

Seattle, Washington

Habitat transformation has been underway along Seattle’s waterfront and Elliott Bay for more than 15 years, first with the Olympic Sculpture Park in 2007. The iconic park offers public access to the water and 1,200 linear feet of shoreline restoration, which was designed and permitted by Anchor QEA.

Enhancements include conversion of a riprap revetment to beach, a nearshore shallow-water habitat corridor for migrating salmon, and formation of a kelp forest in the subtidal zone. More recently, Anchor QEA has designed restoration features along 3,100 linear feet of the waterfront including gravel substrate enhancements and an expansive intertidal habitat beach.

Sunken Meadow State Park

Suffolk County, New York

This salt marsh on the coast of Long Island has experienced significant habitat loss and degradation due to an earthen berm that breached during Superstorm Sandy, as well as surrounding land use impacts.

To enhance avian habitat in this designated Bird Conservation Area, Anchor QEA designed a 400-acre tidal marsh restoration with support from Princeton Hydro.

Integral to the design, Anchor QEA developed an innovative site hydrodynamic model to evaluate marsh flow patterns and the efficacy of proposed restoration approaches. 

St. Louis Bay Oyster Reef

Pass Christian, Mississippi

This habitat-friendly, reef cultch project for The Nature Conservancy creates diverse water-bottom habitat for oysters. Located at the mouth of the Wolf River, the subtidal reef enhancement also supports Mississippi commercial and recreational fisheries.

To determine the most suitable placement of a 20- to 30-acre oyster reef in the 60-acre project area, Anchor QEA performed geotechnical probing of the water bottoms and reviewed bathymetry surveys and water-bottom side-scan data. Tasks also included 30% and 100% construction documents and performing construction administration and observation. 

Meadowdale Beach Park and Estuary

Edmonds, Washington

The first pocket estuary restoration along BNSF Railway's 46 miles of mainline track bordering Puget Sound, Meadowdale Beach Park plays a critical role in the survival of threatened species such as Chinook salmon and Southern Resident orcas. 

A 130-foot span railroad bridge replaces the undersized culvert below the railway, removing a fish barrier and restoring sediment flow, a habitat-forming process essential to Puget Sound’s ecosystem. Anchor QEA landscape architects led the restoration including fill removal, large wood placement, and revegetation. A walkway meanders under the bridge, culminating at a beachfront plaza, providing safe ADA access and recreation opportunities.

Engineering with Nature Proving Grounds

Nationwide, United States

In partnership with the Dredge Research Collaborative, Anchor QEA is working alongside the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the USACE on all continental U.S. coasts, including the Great Lakes, to develop a design and construction framework for Natural and Nature-Based Features and promote Engineering With Nature (EWN) and beneficial use techniques so that communities vulnerable to flooding, sea level rise, and storm surges can incorporate nature-based approaches into resiliency strategies. 

Anchor QEA is working with USACE Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Mobile, Philadelphia, and San Francisco Districts as EWN Proving Grounds to develop innovative system-scale projects specific to each region. 

Hancock County Marsh Living Shoreline

Hancock County, Mississippi

Born from Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds, this project preserves and protects existing habitat, while also providing secondary shellfish productivity areas. Prior to construction of the living shoreline, the Hancock County Marsh Coastal Preserve was the fastest-eroding marsh in Mississippi, with losses equaling 7 acres of intertidal marsh annually. 

The living shoreline design uniquely combines 6 miles of segmented breakwaters with 46 acres of subtidal reef and 46 acres of restored marsh to reduce storm damage while enhancing aquatic habitat. Since construction, the breakwaters have weathered multiple storms and hurricanes with minimal damage.

Duck Creek

Green Bay, Wisconsin

In partnership with the Dredge Research Collaborative, Anchor QEA is working with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and the USACE Chicago District to develop a long-term restoration plan for the mouth of Duck Creek on Lake Michigan. 

Varying objectives and goals of myriad stakeholders, including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and USACE, were fulfilled through site-specific hydrodynamic modeling and innovative landscape features development. The Duck Creek restoration project is a key initiative under the Great Lakes Coastal Restoration Study that the USACE is currently advancing.