This document summarizes a presentation about NOAA's role in habitat restoration projects in the Great Lakes region. It discusses NOAA's vision and goals for restoration, current partnerships, and framework for monitoring and evaluating projects. Key points include that NOAA aims to demonstrate ecological benefits to coastal habitats by addressing impairments. It establishes a two-tiered monitoring and evaluation framework to systematically assess whether projects were implemented as planned and evaluate functional habitat changes.

1. 2011 Healing Our Waters Conference Getting Results: Implementing & Monitoring Habitat Restoration Projects The Fine Print - The views represented in this presentation do not reflect the official position of NOAA or the Department of Commerce

2. 2011 Healing Our Waters Conference NOAA’s Restoration Center in the Great Lakes Region Partnerships, Habitat Restoration and Monitoring, and Response to Spills and other Waste Sites Jessica Berrio and Jhonatan Sepulveda NOAA Restoration Center Great Lakes Region The Fine Print - The views represented in this presentation do not reflect the official position of NOAA or the Department of Commerce

3. NOAA’s Restoration in the Great Lakes NOAA strives to demonstrate meaningful, measurable, and sustainable ecological benefits to coastal and near-shore resources by addressing habitat beneficial use impairments.

4. NOAA’s Restoration Center in the Great Lakes NOAA’s Habitat Restoration Vision and Mission in the Great Lakes Vision: Healthy and sustainable Great Lakes ecosystems that provide a range of benefits for fish and wildlife, natural resource services, and coastal communities. Mission: NOAA’s Restoration Center is committed to the restoration, conservation, management, and sustainable use of the Great Lakes.

6. Employ technical staff;

7. Engage the local community;

8. Work with federal, state, and local partners;

9. Collaborate with public, private, and non-profit partners;

10. Use scientific monitoring to evaluate restoration project success;

12. NOAA’s role in Restoration in the Great Lakes

14. Sustain Our Great Lakes – regional partnership

15. National Wildlife Federation – national partnership

16. Ducks Unlimited, Inc. – national partnership

17. The Nature Conservancy – national partnership

20. Communicates project achievements to stakeholders and the public

23. Tier II will only apply to specific projects where additional information is needed at a larger scale relative to the project. Project Tier I Monitoring Project Tier II Evaluation Data capture, storage and management Data capture, storage and management Analysis of project data Performance Measures

25. Parameters and techniques consistent within restoration type

26. Baseline information collected (when applicable)

27. Each parameter is quantitative or has clearly defined target

29. The effort of Tier II evaluation is higher and broader than Tier I monitoring

30. Evaluation focuses on the functional habitat changes of the project

31. Parameters and techniques consistent within a specific restoration type

33. Monitoring and evaluation recommended pre- and post-implementation

34. Consistent parameters and performance measures monitored and reported across projects

35. Evaluation assesses progress toward project goals

38. Reducing or eliminating Beneficial Use Impairments

39. Monitoring and evaluation measure progress to delisting targets

41. Metrics used to track progress in this project include :

42. Water quality,

43. Bird surveys

44. Amphibian surveys

45. Fish sampling

46. Aquatic/ wetland vegetation surveys

47. Control or reference sites chosen to compare effects of restoration