Project
The Bi-State Water Quality Studies were conducted between 1990 and 1996 and consisted of three phases: 1) gathering existing data so researchers could start with a clear picture of what was already known about the river and its problems; 2) reconnaissance surveys – broad preliminary studies about existing environmental conditions and pollutants of concern; and 3) advanced studies that looked at priority problems based on findings in previous studies. This six year private-public partnership was jointly administered by the Washington Department of Ecology and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and advised by a Bi-State Steering Committee. Steering Committee members came from the many groups that take an active interest in the lower Columbia River: environmentalists, Native American tribes, the pulp and paper industry, private citizens, public ports, local governments, commercial and recreational fishing interests, the Northwest Power Planning Council, and federal agencies dealing with environmental issues. The Bi-State Program was paid for by citizens of Washington and Oregon (1/3 each), the pulp and paper industry (1/6), and public ports (1/6).
As the successor to the Lower Columbia River Bi-State Water Quality Program, the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership maintains copies of all the original Bi-State Studies. These reports can be accessed from the Estuary Partnership online library at http://lcrep.org/lower-columbia-river-bi-state-water-quality-studies. We currently have all of the Bi State Water Quality monitoring results available on a separate Google based map. This data is in the process of being migrated to maps.lcrep.org, but for now it can be accessed at http://www.gismap.us/columbia2.
This is a three year project (2007 - 2009) intended to answer the following questions: 1) In what types of habitats within the tidal freshwater area of the Lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) are yearling and subyearling salmonids found, when are they present, and under what environmental conditions? 2) What is the ecological importance of shallow (0-5m) tidal freshwater habitats to the recovery of Upper Columbia River spring Chinook salmon and steelhead and Snake River fall Chinook salmon? The project is being conducted for Bonneville Power Administration under the auspices of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Fish & Wildlife Program, by the Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
Effectiveness monitoring provides the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (Estuary Partnership), our primary funding agencies (Bonneville Power Administration [BPA], National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], and the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]), and other interested parties with information essential for measuring restoration project performance. It provides a long term strategy to monitor the outcome of restoration projects and evaluate their overall success. It also allows for the assessment of a project’s functional benefits to the lower Columbia River and estuary ecosystem. Sustained restoration project monitoring not only benefits the effectiveness of individual projects but also helps compare projects and examine the long-term cumulative effects of restoration throughout the Columbia River Basin (Johnson, 2007). Also, it provides the necessary monitoring information to inform managers and funding agencies whether a restoration project is achieving its intended ecological goals. Ultimately, funding agencies want to know whether their investment achieved the intended project goal, if it is aiding species recovery, and if it is providing ecosystem benefits.
Habitat Restoration Projects for which all or partial funding is contributed by the Estuary Partnership. The Partnership has been funding habitat restoration projects in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary since the inception of it's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan in 1999. For more detailed information, visit the Partnership's Habitat Restoration web page at http://www.lcrep.org/habitat-restoration
The Estuary Partnership conducts annual habitat monitoring through its Ecosystem Monitoring Project. Metrics which are monitored include basic Water Quality parameters (Water Temp, Salinity, DO, PH), elevation, vegetation, and sediment profiles, as well as salmonid characteristics (Catch per unit Effort, prey availability, fish length, stomach contents, otoliths, etc). The monitoring is focused on relatively undisturbed, tidal freshwater emergent wetland sites throughout the lower river. Typically, 3-4 sites are sampled on a rotating basis, with focus shifting to a different reach of the river each year. In addition, two long term fixed stations in Reach F are monitored every year. These include Campbell Slough in the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, and Cunningham Lake on Sauvies Island. For more information on the Habitat Monitoring Component of the Ecosystem Monitoring Project, visit http://www.lcrep.org/habitat-monitoring.
The Estuary Partnership has developed a network of reference sites in marshes, swamps, and other estuary habitats having relatively undisturbed ecosystem structure and processes. These sites provide a baseline characterization of the status of different habitats to address fundamental uncertainites regarding fish and wildlife habitats in the estuary. The characterization of vegetation community and tidal channel structure using these data will improve salmon habitat restoration success by providing information on those ecological conditions necessary for favorable wetland plant communities and tidal channel networks to develop in the region. This project collaborates with 1) Action Effectiveness Monitoring research by providing paired samples and concurrent development of methods and 2) habitat-trends monitoring research by providing controlling factors information. Ultimately, this network of reference sites also will provide resource managers a means of statistically analyzing and comparing projects with habitat restoration project sites coming on line, to assess effectiveness not only at the site scale but also of the coordinated inter-agency estuary-wide habitat protection/restoration program as called for in the estuary RME plan.
From 2008 - 2009, a small component of the Estuary Partnership's Ecosystem Monitoring Project involved the ecological characterization of freshwater tidal forested wetlands in the Lower Columbia River. This is a relatively rare ecosystem, which has not been well characterized in the Lower Columbia River despite its historic prevalence here. The freshwater tidal forested wetlands in the Lower Columbia River provide essential habitat for juvenile salmonids. Hydro-regulation of the river and floodplain development have resulted in significant losses of these wetlands over the past 100 years, emphasizing the need for detailed study.
The Estuary Partnership’s Ecosystem Monitoring Project, in collaboration with USGS and NOAA Fisheries, sampled for contaminants in water, sediment, and juvenile Chinook salmon in the lower river. Sampling was conducted at 6 sites from 2004 - 2005, with data analysis and rollup in 2006 - 2007. This monitoring effort provided a comprehensive picture of how toxics (particularly bioaccumulative ones) are moving through the lower river and food chain and ultimately affecting juvenile salmon.
Additional information related to the Ecosystem Monitoring Project toxics monitoring can be found at http://www.lcrep.org/toxics-monitoring-assessing-contaminants-water-sedi..., or you can go directly to the resulting Water Quality and Salmon Sampling Report at http://www.lcrep.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/WaterSalmonReport.pdf. We currently have all of the data from this study available on a separate Google based map. This data is in the process of being migrated to maps.lcrep.org, but for now it can be accessed at http://www.gismap.us/columbia2.
These reports can be accessed from the Estuary Partnership online library at http://lcrep.org/lower-columbia-river-bi-state-water-quality-studies. We currently have all of the Bi State Water Quality monitoring results available on a separate Google based map. This data is in the process of being migrated to maps.lcrep.org, but for now it can be accessed at http://www.gismap.us/columbia2.
Habitat Restoration projects which are conducted by local restoration partners, and which no funds are contributed by the Estuary Partnership. Major restoration partners include CREST, the Columbia Land Trust, Ash Creek Forest Management, Scappoose Bay Watershed Council, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, Washington and Oregon states, as well as several others. The Partnership attempts to maintain relevant information for these projects, however much of the project details still need to be acquired. For more detailed information about Habitat Restoration in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary, visit the Partnership's Habitat Restoration web page at http://www.lcrep.org/habitat-restoration.
This is a seven year project (2004 - 2010) to evaluate the cumulative effects of habitat restoration in the Lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). The project is being conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, by the Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the Pt. Adams Biological Field Station of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST). The goal of the Cumulative Effects Study is to develop a methodology to evaluate the cumulative effects of multiple habitat restoration projects intended to benefit ecosystems supporting juvenile salmonids in the LCRE. For additional information, visit http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-165...
Restoration Activities
Monitoring Parameters
Fish Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)
This includes basic hydrology, topology, vegetation, and sediment characteristics that define the habitat at the site.
Sampling of insect types and quantities present at the site.
Relative success of vegetation plantings that are done as part of restoration work. These are typically conducted on an annual basis from the time that plants were planted, and is a measure of survival counts for each species planted.
Indicators of Salmonid health and stock including length, girth, presence of adipose fin clip, otilith analysis
This term includes a variety of parameters related to the health of sampled juvenile salmonids, and the surrounding habitat.
Stomach contents of sampled individuals
The breakdown of vegetation species that are present along surveyed site transects
Polygon data showing distribution of vegetation throughout the site, logged with a GPS receiver
Time series of tidal/river elevation at the site that is logged over a period of time with a data logger.