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Habitat Monitoring in the Lower Columbia River

Several organizations have been engaged in ecological monitoring activities in the Lower Columbia River in recent years.  The projects included here are limited to recent projects for which the Estuary Partnership maintains data, and which monitor ecological metrics related to water quality (temp, salinity, DO, pH, turbidity), habitat (elevation, vegetation, sediment, channel profiles), and fish use (CPUE, salmonid characteristics, prey abundance and composition).  Information related to monitoring of toxic and conventional pollutants can be found on our Toxics Monitoring page.

Users interested in historic monitoring efforts can access information about the 1970s-1980s Columbia River Data Development Program (CREDDP), as well as the early 1990s Bi-State Water Quality Study from the Estuary Partnership library.  While not included here, both of these studies collected significant amounts of data for a wide range of metrics.

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The Estuary Partnership's Habitat Monitoring component of its Ecosystem Monitoring Project incorporates annual habitat, fish, and water quality monitoring at relatively undisturbed, tidal freshwater emergent wetland sites throughout the lower river. Our Freshwater Tidal Forested Wetland Monitoring focuses on a relatively rare but ecologically important ecosystem that has experienced significant loss over the past century. The Reference Site Study has developed a network of nearly 40 undisturbed sites throughout the Lower River for which monitoring has provided baseline characterization of a variety of habitats. This data can be used for several purposes.  Action Effectiveness Monitoring incorporates long term monitoring of selected restoration sites in order to evaluate how well these sites are achieving their intended goals. In addition to its own projects, the EP also attempts to track monitoring efforts in the lower Columbia that are undertaken by partner organizations. Some information related to these projects is included here, including the US Army Corps of Engineers Cumulative Effects of Restoration Study, and Bonneville Power Administration's Tidal Freshwater Monitoring Project. Projects will be updated and added as more information becomes available. For general information on the Estuary Partnership's Monitoring program, click here.