Download or read book Lower Columbia River and Estuary Ecosystem Monitoring written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Lower Columbia River Estuary Program written by Bruce Sutherland and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Lower Columbia River and Estuary Habitat Monitoring Study 2011 Final Report written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ecosystem Monitoring Program is a collaborative effort between the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (LCREP), University of Washington, Wetland Ecosystem Team (UW), US Geological Survey, Water Science Center (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries, hereafter NOAA), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Marine Sciences Laboratory (PNNL). The goal of the program is to conduct emergent wetland monitoring aimed at characterizing salmonid habitats in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) from the mouth of the estuary to Bonneville Dam (Figure 1). This is an ecosystem based monitoring program focused on evaluating status and trends in habitat and reducing uncertainties regarding these ecosystems to ultimately improve the survival of juvenile salmonids through the LCRE. This project comprehensively assesses habitat, fish, food web, and abiotic conditions in the lower river, focusing on shallow water and vegetated habitats used by juvenile salmonids for feeding, rearing and refugia. The information is intended to be used to guide management actions associated with species recovery, particularly that of threatened and endangered salmonids. PNNL's role in this multi-year study is to monitor the habitat structure (e.g., vegetation, topography, channel morphology, and sediment type) as well as hydrologic patterns.

Download or read book Protocols for Monitoring Habitat Restoration Projects in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Protocols for monitoring salmon habitat restoration projects are essential for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' environmental efforts in the Columbia River estuary. This manual provides state-of-the science data collection and analysis methods for landscape features, water quality, and fish species composition, among others.

Download or read book Action Effectiveness Monitoring in the implement Habitat Restoration in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary Contract written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is the annual report documenting Action Effectiveness Monitoring (AEM) efforts implemented by the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (Estuary Partnership) under Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Project Number 2003-011-00, Contract Number 45815.

Download or read book Evaluation of Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary 2010 written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the seventh and final annual report of a project (2004-2010) addressing evaluation of the cumulative effects of habitat restoration actions in the 235-km-long lower Columbia River and estuary. The project, called the Cumulative Effects (CE) study, was conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District by a collaboration of research agencies led by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. We achieved the primary goal of the CE study to develop a methodology to evaluate the cumulative effects of habitat actions in the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program. We delivered 1) standard monitoring protocols and methods to prioritize monitoring activities; 2) the theoretical and empirical basis for a CE methodology using levels-of-evidence; 3) evaluations of cumulative effects using ecological relationships, geo-referenced data, hydrodynamic modeling, and meta-analyses; and 4) an adaptive management process to coordinate and coalesce restoration efforts in the LCRE. A solid foundation has been laid for future comprehensive evaluations of progress made by the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program to understand, conserve, and restore ecosystems in the lower Columbia River and estuary.

Download or read book Lower Columbia River and Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program Reference Site Study written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ecological Condition of the Columbia River Estuary written by Gretchen Ann Hayslip and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Columbia River estuary is a unique and important ecological resource. EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP) was established by Congress in 1987 in Clean Water Act amendments to improve the quality of estuaries of national significance. The Columbia River estuary is one of 28 estuaries in the NEP. The overall quality of the Columbia River estuary, which forms the border between Washington and Oregon, is described in this report using data collected as part of the Western Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). EMAP was initiated by EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) to estimate the current status and trends in the condition of nation's ecological resources. EMAP also examines associations between these indicators and natural and human-caused stressors. The coastal component of EMAP's monitoring and assessment tools are used to create an integrated and comprehensive coastal monitoring program of coastal ecosystems. Water column measurements are combined with information about sediment characteristics and chemistry, benthic organisms, and fish to describe the current estuarine condition. Sampling began during the summer of 1999, with small estuaries of the Columbia River. In 2000, sampling continued with the larger Columbia River estuary. The boundary for the Columbia River estuary was head of tidal influence, so there were some freshwater components of this sampling effort. The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) conducted all field sampling for this project in 1999-2000 with assistance from EPA Region 10 and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This project was designed to evaluate the overall condition of the Columbia River estuary. For water physical/chemical parameters, 7% of the area of the Columbia River estuary was in fair/poor condition, while nutrient indicators (nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll a) showed a larger percent of the area (31- 46%) in the fair/poor condition category. For sediment indicators, total organic carbon showed none of the areas was in poor condition, but for sediment contaminants approximately 16% of the Columbia River estuarine area was in poor condition. As for biological indicators (chemicals in fish tissue and percent Corbicula), for chemicals in fish tissue, 39% of the area was in fair/poor condition. An even higher percent of the Columbia River estuary (66%) was in poor condition using percent Corbicula, a nonindigenous species, as an indictor. In 2006, we evaluated the ecological condition of the estuaries of Oregon and Washington (Hayslip, et al., 2006). The percent area in fair/poor condition for every indicator we evaluated was higher in the Columbia River estuary. The only exception was for chemicals in fish tissue where we found 47% of the area for estuaries of Oregon and Washington in fair/poor condition and 39% in the Columbia River estuary in fair/poor condition."--Executive summary (page v).

Download or read book Research Monitoring and Evaluation for the Federal Columbia River Estuary Program written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this document is to describe research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) for the Federal Columbia River Estuary Program, hereafter called 'the Estuary Program'. The intent of this RME effort is to provide data and information to evaluate progress toward meeting program goals and objectives and support decision making in the Estuary Program. The goal of the Estuary Program is to understand, conserve, and restore the estuary ecosystem to improve the performance of listed salmonid populations. The Estuary Program has five general objectives, designed to fulfill the program goal, as follows: (1) Understand the primary stressors affecting ecosystem controlling factors, such as ocean conditions and invasive species. (2) Conserve and restore factors controlling ecosystem structures and processes, such as hydrodynamics and water quality. (3) Increase the quantity and quality of ecosystem structures, i.e., habitats, juvenile salmonids use during migration through the estuary. (4) Maintain the food web to benefit salmonid performance. (5) Improve salmonid performance in terms of life history diversity, foraging success, growth, and survival. The goal of estuary RME is to provide pertinent and timely research and monitoring information to planners, implementers, and managers of the Estuary Program. The goal leads to three primary management questions pertaining to the main focus of the Estuary Program: estuary habitat conservation and restoration. (1) Are the estuary habitat actions achieving the expected biological and environmental performance targets? (2) Are the offsite habitat actions in the estuary improving juvenile salmonid performance and which actions are most effective at addressing the limiting factors preventing achievement of habitat, fish, or wildlife performance objectives? (3) What are the limiting factors or threats in the estuary/ocean preventing the achievement of desired habitat or fish performance objectives? Performance measures for the estuary are monitored indicators that reflect the status of habitat conditions and fish performance, e.g., habitat connectivity, survival, and life history diversity. Performance measures also pertain to implementation and compliance. Such measures are part of the monitoring, research, and action plans in this estuary RME document. Performance targets specific to the estuary were not included in the 2007 draft Biological Opinion.

Download or read book Juvenile Salmon Ecology in Tidal Freshwater Wetlands of the Lower Columbia River and Estuary written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Framework for Regional Coordinated Monitoring in the Middle and Upper Deschutes River Basin Oregon written by Chauncey W. Anderson and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gulf Coast communities and natural resources suffered extensive direct and indirect damage as a result of the largest accidental oil spill in US history, referred to as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Notably, natural resources affected by this major spill include wetlands, coastal beaches and barrier islands, coastal and marine wildlife, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, commercial fisheries, deep benthos, and coral reefs, among other habitats and species. Losses include an estimated 20% reduction in commercial fishery landings across the Gulf of Mexico and damage to as much as 1,100 linear miles of coastal salt marsh wetlands. This historic spill is being followed by a restoration effort unparalleled in complexity and magnitude in U.S. history. Legal settlements in the wake of DWH led to the establishment of a set of programs tasked with administering and supporting DWH-related restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. In order to ensure that restoration goals are met and money is well spent, restoration monitoring and evaluation should be an integral part of those programs. However, evaluations of past restoration efforts have shown that monitoring is often inadequate or even absent. Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico identifies best practices for monitoring and evaluating restoration activities to improve the performance of restoration programs and increase the effectiveness and longevity of restoration projects. This report provides general guidance for restoration monitoring, assessment, and synthesis that can be applied to most ecological restoration supported by these major programs given their similarities in restoration goals. It also offers specific guidance for a subset of habitats and taxa to be restored in the Gulf including oyster reefs, tidal wetlands, and seagrass habitats, as well as a variety of birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals.

Download or read book Evaluating Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Columbia River Estuary Annual Report 2007 written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The goal of this multi-year study (2004-2010) is to develop a methodology to evaluate the cumulative effects of multiple habitat restoration projects intended to benefit ecosystems supporting juvenile salmonids in the lower Columbia River and estuary. Literature review in 2004 revealed no existing methods for such an evaluation and suggested that cumulative effects could be additive or synergistic. Field research in 2005, 2006, and 2007 involved intensive, comparative studies paired by habitat type (tidal swamp vs. marsh), trajectory (restoration vs. reference site), and restoration action (tide gate vs. culvert vs. dike breach). The field work established two kinds of monitoring indicators for eventual cumulative effects analysis: core and higher-order indicators. Management implications of limitations and applications of site-specific effectiveness monitoring and cumulative effects analysis were identified.

Download or read book Lower Columbia River Estuary Program Biological Integrity Workshop May 13 14 1999 Sandy Oregon written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evaluating Cumulative Ecosystem Response to Restoration Projects in the Columbia River Estuary Annual Report 2004 written by Gary E. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The restoration of wetland salmon habitat in the tidal portion of the Columbia River is occurring at an accelerating pace and is anticipated to improve habitat quality and effect hydrological reconnection between existing and restored habitats. Currently multiple groups are applying a variety of restoration strategies in an attempt to emulate historic estuarine processes. However, the region lacks both a standardized means of evaluating the effectiveness of individual projects as well as methods for determining the cumulative effects of all restoration projects on a regional scale. This project is working to establish a framework to evaluate individual and cumulative ecosystem responses to restoration activities in order to validate the effectiveness of habitat restoration activities designed to benefit salmon through improvements to habitat quality and habitat opportunity (i.e. access) in the Columbia River from Bonneville Dam to the ocean. The review and synthesis of approaches to measure the cumulative effects of multiple restoration projects focused on defining methods and metrics of relevance to the CRE, and, in particular, juvenile salmon use of this system. An extensive literature review found no previous study assessing the cumulative effects of multiple restoration projects on the fundamental processes and functions of a large estuarine system, although studies are underway in other large land-margin ecosystems including the Florida Everglades and the Louisiana coastal wetlands. Literature from a variety of scientific disciplines was consulted to identify the ways that effects can accumulate (e.g., delayed effects, cross-boundary effects, compounding effects, indirect effects, triggers and thresholds) as well as standard and innovative tools and methods utilized in cumulative effects analyses: conceptual models, matrices, checklists, modeling, trends analysis, geographic information systems, carrying capacity analysis, and ecosystem analysis. Potential indicators for detecting a signal in the estuarine system resulting from the multiple projects were also reviewed, i.e. organic matter production, nutrient cycling, sedimentation, food webs, biodiversity, salmon habitat usage, habitat opportunity, and allometry. In subsequent work, this information will be used to calculate the over net effect on the ecosystem. To evaluate the effectiveness of habitat restoration actions in the lower Columbia River and estuary, a priority of this study has been to develop a set of minimum ecosystem monitoring protocols based on metrics important for the CRE. The metrics include a suite of physical measurements designed to evaluate changes in hydrological and topographic features, as well as biological metrics that will quantify vegetation and fish community structure. These basic measurements, intended to be conducted at all restoration sites in the CRE, will be used to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of various restoration procedures on target metrics, and (2) provide the data to determine the cumulative effects of many restoration projects on the overall system. A protocol manual is being developed for managers, professional researchers, and informed volunteers, and is intended to be a practical technical guide for the design and implementation of monitoring for the effects of restoration activities. The guidelines are intended to standardize the collection of data critical for analyzing the anticipated ecological change resulting from restoration treatments. Field studies in 2005 are planned to initiate the testing and evaluation of these monitoring metrics and protocols and initiate the evaluation of higher order metrics for cumulative effects.

Download or read book Protecting and Restoring America s Great Waters Part II written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Focus on Environmental Monitoring written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: