Across the country, communities are discovering that some of the most effective solutions to today’s environmental challenges come from working with nature rather than against it. From the shifting deltas of coastal Louisiana to the high-desert streams of Wyoming, restoration efforts show that when we support natural processes—rather than replace or restrain them—we can rebuild vital landscapes, strengthen community resilience and create long-term environmental and economic benefits. Two recent examples from Neptune Pass, in Louisiana, and Sage Creek, in Wyoming, illustrate how following nature’s lead can spark transformative, lasting change.
As the Mississippi River flows through Louisiana and towards the Gulf of Mexico, the mud, clay, sand and silt the water carries with it is deposited into coastal wetlands. This process helps balance coastal erosion by creating new land along the shore. But increasingly frequent, climate change-driven mega-storms, along with human-made infrastructure that disrupts the river’s natural flow, have diminished its ability to build new land. As a result, a football field's worth of the Louisiana coast now disappears into the sea every 100 minutes.
Over the last century Louisiana has lost more than 2,000 square miles of land. That is roughly the same size as the state of Delaware. The remaining land weakened by erosion is more vulnerable to damage from hurricanes and storm surges.
But at Neptune Pass, a small outlet forged by the Mississippi River 70 miles south of New Orleans, nature is showing us a path to bring back eroded coastal areas and create more resilient landscapes.
After several high-water years culminating in 2019, the Mississippi River broke free of the constraints channeling it at Neptune Pass. The water flowing through Neptune Pass is now delivering enough sediment to create sandbars in Breton Sound – helping to restore the shoreline.
Replenished coastal wetlands slow storm surge and absorb floodwaters, protecting both people and property from catastrophic damage. As sediment is deposited, vegetation takes root, which also creates habitat for fish, migrating birds and other wildlife.
What began as a small outlet at Neptune Pass has now grown to become an 850-foot-wide channel. If it were categorized as a stand-alone river, it would be the 10th largest river by volume of flowing water in North America.
In past years the Army Corps of Engineers may have responded to nature breaking free in this way by closing the pass entirely as the simplest way to protect the larger river from disruption. Instead, working in consultation with environmental groups, the Corps has recommended stabilizing the pass to keep it from expanding further, while still allowing water and sediment to flow through.
By choosing to follow nature’s lead, rather than trying to force it to fit a predetermined, human-engineered project, we have built a more sustainable, long-term strategy to protect Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
More than 1,500 miles away in an entirely different landscape, nature is creating lasting change in the Colorado River Basin. In this case, conservationists are using human-made infrastructure to kickstart a solution that will allow nature to take over and protect local communities and wildlife habitats.
Part of the Green River system, Sage Creek in Southwest Wyoming is a critical water source for local communities and native fish. The river’s importance stretches far beyond the local region. It feeds into the Green River and ultimately into Flaming Gorge reservoir, which supplies water to Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.
Over the years, conditions along Sage Creek have deteriorated due to fire, flooding, prolonged drought and other land use issues. In an effort to improve the health of the river, Trout Unlimited is working with local landowners to find ways to restore the natural environment around Sage Creek.
Their work has included building dozens of beaver starter homes, also called Beaver Dam Analogs. Designed to mimic the dams that beavers naturally build in their habitat, these structures are porous walls of sticks, logs and leaves that slow water in one part of the stream, encouraging vegetation growth and creating wetlands. This slower-flowing water naturally filters sediment and pollutants as it runs downstream, leading to cleaner water supplies and healthier landscapes.
The wetter areas established by the dams also help protect against damage from catastrophic wildfires by generating natural firebreaks and absorbing floodwaters before they reach local communities.
Beaver dam analogs are, by nature, temporary. They’re meant to serve a purpose for a time and provide an opportunity for nature to take over and continue the natural process that has been started. If there are beaver colonies close by, the hope is that they treat the analog structures as starter homes by moving in, improving the original dams and building more structures in the area. The more dams that are built, the more their habitat improves by enabling conditions for the willow and cottonwood trees beavers depend on to survive.
By focusing on nature-based strategies, we can create safer, healthier and more resilient landscapes that will benefit us today and for generations to come.
The work on Sage Creek has delivered results. Beaver colonies have moved in and, as a result, the stream bed has risen several feet in some areas. This has improved wildlife habitat and helps ensure reliable, clean and safe water supplies for communities. It also benefits farmers and ranchers by increasing vegetation for grazing and improving the reliability of irrigation supplies.
The work being done at both Neptune Pass in Louisiana and Sage Creek shows the impact we can have when we find ways to partner with nature rather than relying solely on human-designed projects to control it. By focusing on nature-based strategies, we can create safer, healthier and more resilient landscapes that will benefit us today and for generations to come.
