The Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) was officially created in 1996 from the merger of two United States Army Corps of Engineers laboratories: The Hydraulics Laboratory and the Coastal Engineering Research Center, both organizations that were based at the U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station (WES) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. CHL remains based in Vicksburg, Mississippi and specializes in ocean, estuarine, riverine and watershed research. Research projects range from design guidance to three-dimensional numerical models. Research focuses include inland and coastal navigation, military logistics over the shore, dredging, flood control, storm and erosion protection, waterway restoration, fish passage, hydro-environmental modeling, water/land management, and other water and sediment-related issues facing the nation.