In 2013, California began removing millions of purple urchins from barren reefs; seven years later, more than 55 acres of kelp forest had returned

Kelp forests are among the most productive ecosystems in the ocean. They provide habitat for fish…

In the early 1990s, fewer than 1,000 threatened chum salmon returned to this Washington watershed; recent returns average 32,600 a year as a $9.7 million river restoration nears completion

chum salmon Representative image In the early 1990s, fewer than 1,000 threatened summer-run chum salmon made…

In 2010, Deepwater Horizon damaged deep-sea coral habitats; 16 years later, NOAA divers are planting lab-grown colonies to help rebuild them

Representative Image (AI-generated) Sixteen years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill injured extensive coral habitats in…

Florida spent about $17 million transforming degraded farmland near Tampa Bay into Robinson Preserve, a 700-acre coastal refuge that now draws about 240,000 visitors annually

Robinson PreservePhoto credit: Lindsay Rosegger/NOAA Fisheries On the edge of Tampa Bay, where mangrove forests meet…

Louisiana created 1,170 acres of new wetlands in Barataria Basin; one year later, shrimp and crabs are returning to the restored habitat

One year after Louisiana restored 1,170 acres of wetlands, shrimp, crabs and red drum are returning…

California is weighing state endangered-species protections for southern resident killer whales, a population of just over 70 animals threatened by noise, pollution and falling salmon prey

California is taking a closer look at one of the Pacific coast’s most iconic and imperilled…