Using Fish Creek settlement money after a diesel fuel spill, natural resource trustees carried out habitat improvement projects that included purchasing conservation easements on private lands, purchasing private lands to be set aside within the Indiana DNR and the Ohio DNR, reforesting natural buffers along Fish Creek, stabilizing stream banks to protect water quality, and creating wetlands within the watershed. Altogether, 1585.46 acres were protected through these practices. Additional studies established baseline data for Fish Creek after the spill, including qualitative and quantitative study of mussel populations, a water quality study, and a sedimentation survey, which helped trustees target restoration dollars. The effort depended on many individuals and organizations, including 16 property owners who placed conservation easements on their lands, The Nature Conservancy, and the City of Hamilton Parks Department. The Fish Creek Council sought both to improve current conditions and to ensure long-term improvement across the watershed by encouraging best-management practices such as reforestation of riparian corridors, erosion control, and excluding livestock from Fish Creek.