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This report presents the results of a long-term habitat and trend analyses of bird community data from a monitoring effort conducted on five Dredged Material Containment Areas (DMCAs) from 1994 to 2012. The USACE Savannah District developed and implemented a Long-Term Management Strategy (LTMS) for the DMCAs in 1996 to mitigate lost wetland habitat due to maintenance operations in the Savannah Harbor, and to provide habitat for the floral and faunal communities that otherwise would be available if not for the urban and economic development of the area. Bimonthly surveys were conducted from 1994 to 2012 to assess the effectiveness of the LTMS to provide seasonal habitat for the bird community. Archived quarterly satellite imagery was collected and analyzed from 2001 to 2011 to assess year-round seasonal habitat availability. All bird community data collected were fitted to a negative binomial (mean abundance) or Poisson distribution (mean species richness) and used to assess trends for 180 individual species and 12 species groups for spring, summer, fall, and winter seasons from 1994 to 2012. Results indicate that the Savannah DMCAs support stable to increasing populations of most species and species groups during each season, including many species ranked as regional priority species. DISCLAIMER: The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising, publication, or promotional purposes. Citation of trade names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. All product names and trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners. The findings of this report are not to be construed as an official Department of the Army position unless so designated by other authorized documents.

Engineering With Nature is the alignment of natural and engineering processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits through collaborative processes. PURPOSE: This document summarizes the management approach for the Dredged Material Confinement Areas (DMCAs) (located in Jasper County, SC) at the Savannah Harbor Navigation Project (SHNP) in the Savannah Harbor, Chatham County, GA. The management approach is detailed in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Savannah District, Long Term Management Strategy (LTMS) (USACE 1996). The LTMS was initiated to mitigate wetland losses in Georgia and South Carolina from ongoing dredged material deposition, harbor deepening efforts, and normal operating activities from maintenance of the Savannah Harbor. Since the inception and implementation of the LTMS in 1996, USACE has recognized that engineering operations, particularly those that involve dredged material deposition, can provide opportunities for infrastructure enhancement by applying improved engineering practices, and by incorporating natural features in the final product, which yield additional environmental benefits. The Engineering With Nature® (EWN) initiative incorporates both infrastructure development and enhancement with environmental management (Banks et al. 2013, USACE 2013, Bridges et al. 2018). Many of the design and management features of the SHNP and implementation of the LTMS on the DCMAs have incorporated principles of EWN. The purpose of this technical note is to: (1) summarize the creation and management of the DMCAs from implementation of the LTMS, (2) identify and describe features of the LTMS in common with EWN principles, and (3) discuss how this approach improves USACE's ability to meet mission objectives while providing environmental benefits to the local and regional ecosystem. BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM: Engineering With Nature is defined as the intentional alignment of natural and engineering processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits associated with water resources projects. Essential features of the EWN approach include: (1) use of science and engineering to produce operational efficiencies that support sustainable delivery of project benefits, (2) incorporation of natural processes to maximize benefits and to thereby reduce demands on limited resources, (3) minimization of the environmental footprint of projects and enhancement of the quality of project benefits, (4) increasing the breadth and extent of the base of benefits that projects provide, including substantiated economic, social, and environmental gains, and (5) use of science-based collaborative processes to organize and focus interests, stakeholders, and partners, to reduce social friction, resistance, and project delays by producing more broadly acceptable projects (Bridges 2012, Bridges et al. 2018).