This project is intended to provide wetland restoration using Engineering with Nature (EWN) solutions assistance to US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility (PTRF) near Fort Wainwright Alaska (FWA). Across the Arctic and sub-arctic, permafrost degradation is reshaping and modifying northern ecosystems through substantial changes in soil/water content, which impacts soils, sediments, and aquatic environments integral to constraining terrain instability, microbial diversity, vegetation succession, and water quality. The CRREL PTRF support project will restore natural drainage above the PTRF to protect the permafrost tunnel and enhance wetlands.

This project implements the installation Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) with the objective of providing healthy and resilient environments that are sustainable settings for military training while protecting and enhancing biological diversity and ecological health on all Department of Defense (DoD) lands, and to ensure compliance with all environmental laws and regulations. Some of the benefits to the natural resources include improving existing hydrological connectivity, water quality, wetland protection, permafrost soil protection, and prevent further damage and rehabilitate soils to public lands.

This project is intended to assist CRREL in implementing the INRMP, mandated by the Sikes Act, on Alaska lands providing for “natural resource protection, enhancement, and restoration, where necessary for support of fish, wildlife, or plants”. This project meets the requirements of the 2020 U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Alaska INRMP and fulfills agency responsibilities for natural resource stewardship. The project supports the Army Military Resiliency and their INRMP goals and objectives. The project will improve the surfaces to protect the waterways for enhanced water quality, protect and prevent damage to natural resources, protect permafrost soils, and maintain quality training lands goals.

Statutory Authority: 16 U.S.C. 670 (Sikes Act).

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