Conservation

Conceptual Conservation Continuum: Adapted from WADNR.

The term conservation can have many meanings. For the purposes of this toolkit, conservation means any voluntary action (i.e., not required under a regulatory framework) that directly protects or improves a natural habitat or process, including any subcomponent of a natural habitat (such as an individual species) or process (such as shoreline drift). Conservation activities may include preservation, enhancement, restoration, and creation activities. This toolkit adopts terms and definitions that are often used in the United States for regulatory purposes. However, globally there are no standardized terms. To see how these activities may be implemented in the water, see Step 4.2 Habitat.

Preservation

Preservation activities maintain current conditions at sites by removing current threats and preventing future threats. Preservation activities normally occur on sites that are relatively intact (i.e., pristine) compared to their historic habitat conditions. Preventing bottom trawling of sensitive bottomlands is an example of preservation.

Enhancement

Enhancement activities heighten, intensify, or improve naturally occurring historic conditions to sites that have been degraded but still contain some level of their historically occurring natural conditions. Enhancement activities can include habitat improvements or reintroductions that increase species abundance or levels of production. Depositing material (cultch) to attract native oyster larvae and build up native oyster populations on areas of low native oyster productivity is an example of enhancement.

Restored oyster reef. Photo ©Barry Truitt/TNC Virginia

Restoration

Restoration activities return naturally occurring historic conditions to sites that have been degraded to such an extent that they no longer possess any of their historically occurring natural conditions. Removing fill from an historic intertidal area to re-establish the gradient, substrate, vegetation, and aquatic function is an example of restoration.

Creation

Creation activities develop (artificial) conditions at sites that are not naturally occurring. Creation activities can include changing terrestrial habitats to aquatic habitats and/or changing one type of aquatic habitat into a different type. Creation activities can technically occur on any site, regardless of the current condition of the site relative to its historic condition.