of an increase in the amount of dense grass and decrease in the area of open water, creating a blurring of the directional ridge and slough pattern. Historical everglade and slough landscape has been greatly affected and degraded by human activity. Open water sloughs support important ecological functions that have been seen to be sensitive to hydrologic and water quality problems stemmed from human activities. Restoration Sloughs are ecologically important as they are a part of an endangered environment; wetlands. They act as a buffer from land to sea and act as an active part of the estuary system where freshwater flows from creeks and runoff from the land mix with salty ocean water transported by tides. Restoration is a big effort in California wetlands to restore slough and ridge landscapes. Examples of restoration projects on slough landscapes include The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project, Dutch Slough Tidal Restoration Project, and the McDaniel Slough wetland enhancement project. See also References Hydrology Wetlands River morphology