"Every little bit helps" is perhaps the underlying principle for the estimated 3,000 – 4,000 local watershed groups across the country. Many communities are proving they can make a noticeable difference in their neighborhood waterbody.

Large projects often involve heavy equipment like dredgers or excavators, but citizens can take part in activities like planting trees and native vegetation, shoring up stream banks with rock weirs, conducting campaigns to reducing fertilizer use or simply removing the pollution source (e.g., neighborhood trash clean-ups). Successful restoration projects can not only reclaim healthy habitats for fish and aquatic wildlife, but have been known to yield increased property values in the community.

Examples of Restoration Activities

• Think Globally – Act Locally. Restoring Mousam Lake
• Holmes Lake in Nebraska: From TMDL to Restoration
• TMDLs at Work
• Water Restoration Success Stories
• Nonpoint Source Pollution Success Stories in Your State
• National Estuary Program in Action: Case Studies on Improving Water Quality (including with TMDLs)