Updates on Columbia River Estuary Restoration

Overview of the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program

Jason Karnezis, Estuary Lead for Bonneville Power Administration, provided an overview of the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP), which is part of the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, at the September 2024 Council meeting (slides|video).

The Walluski-Young project site, where restoration was implemented around existing BPA power lines through strategic breaching of the levee.

The program covers the lower 146 miles of the mainstem Columbia River and estuary in OR and WA, as well as all tributaries that are tidally influenced. The estuary is crucial habitat for anadromous fish as they transition from freshwater to saltwater in a process called smoltifying.

While program goals are focused on habitat restoration that benefits those juvenile fish, the use of an ecosystem-based approach allows for the monitoring of additional benefits such as nutrient flow. The Expert Regional Technical Group (ERTG), a group of estuary scientists, help evaluate the benefits of restoration, prioritize scientific uncertainties, and publish scientific papers as well as other regional resources. This is part of the adaptive management framework that guides CEERP's work.

Fish and Wildlife Division Director Patty O'Toole commented, "The estuary program is an example of true scientific adaptive management. It is more than just learning by doing. In true adaptive management, we test hypotheses, and document findings in peer-reviewed research. Then it is important to have strong coordinated communication so that others can learn from this work, and then move on with restoration based on that research. And this is a program that has really done that to an incredible degree."

Outcomes from the last 20+ years include over 80 projects completed and 11,000 acres of reconnected floodplain habitat. Additional research is looking at climate change and resiliency, monitoring fish use of transitional habitats, and investigating the restoration potential of different types of shoreline habitat, particularly shoreline that has been armored or riprapped.

Map of the Columbia River Estuary showing the size and type of acquisition and restoration projects implemented by CEERP, 2000-2020.

Also on hand to present were Catherine Corbett, Chief Scientist for the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Ian Sinks, Stewardship Director for the Columbia Land Trust, and Jason Smith, Habitat Restoration Program Manager for the Columbia River Estuary Taskforce. They shared updates on many of the specific projects being implemented in the estuary (slides|video). Projects include large-scale floodplain reconnection, assessing the potential of wetlands to aid in carbon sequestration, community engagement, and more. Other CEERP partner organizations include the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Wolf Water Resources, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

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