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International efforts to restore degraded ecosystems will continue to expand over the coming decades, yet the factors contributing to the effectiveness of long‐term restoration across large areas remain largely unexplored. At large scales, outcomes are more complex and synergistic than the additive impacts of individual restoration projects. Here,...
This paper describes the distribution and variability of wetland plant species (n = 203) on the 234 river-kilometer lower Columbia River and estuary floodplain. The plant data is coupled with elevation and hydrology data to develop a predictive model of species distribution that can be applied to restoration and changing environmental conditions.
Habitat restoration actions have been proposed and implemented in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) for the last two decades in response to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Biological Opinions for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. Since 2010 proposed restoration projects are evaluated by an Expert Regional Techn...
The physical controlling factors on coastal plant communities are among the most dynamic of known ecosystems, but climate change alters coastal surface and subsurface hydrologic regimes, which makes rapid measurement of greenhouse gas fluxes critical. Greenhouse gas exchange rates in these terrestrial‐aquatic ecosystems are highly variable worldwid...
The transport of terrestrial plant matter into coastal waters is important to regional and global biogeochemical cycles, and methods for assessing and predicting fluxes in such dynamic environments are needed. We investigated the hypothesis that upon reconnection of a floodplain wetland to its mainstem river, organic matter produced in the wetland...
The restoration of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) is a high priority in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. In 2011, the state set a restoration target to increase eelgrass area by 4,200 ha by 2020, a 20% increase over the 21,500 ha then present. In a region as large, dynamic and complex as Puget Sound, locating areas to restore eelgrass effectiv...
We implemented and institutionalized an adaptive management (AM) process for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program, which is a large-scale restoration program focused on improving ecosystem conditions in the 234-km lower Columbia River and estuary. For our purpose, “institutionalized” means the AM process and restoration programs are e...
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, se...
Adaptive management (AM) is being employed in a number of programs in the United States to guide actions to restore aquatic ecosystems because these programs are both expensive and are faced with significant uncertainties. Many of these uncertainties are associated with prioritizing when, where, and what kind of actions are needed to meet the objec...
This study adapts and applies the evidence-based approach for causal inference, a medical standard, to the restoration and sustainable management of large-scale aquatic ecosystems. Despite long-term investments in restoring aquatic ecosystems, it has proven difficult to adequately synthesize and evaluate program outcomes, and no standard method has...
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is recognized as an indicator of ecosystem health, provides habitat for many species of marine life, and is in decline in many parts of the world. The Puget Sound Partnership began a regional process of reversing the decline of eelgrass by setting a goal of 20% more eelgrass in Puget Sound, Washington, USA, by the year 202...
Estuarine ecosystems are largely influenced by watersheds directly connected to them. In the Mobile Bay, Alabama watersheds we examined the effect of land cover and land use (LCLU) changes on discharge rate, water properties, and submerged aquatic vegetation, including freshwater macrophytes and seagrasses, throughout the estuary. LCLU scenarios fr...
Using laboratory experiments on temperature and leaf metabolism, and field data sets from Washington, between 1991 and 2013, we developed lines of evidence showing that variations in water temperature, mean sea level, and desiccation stress appear to drive spatial and temporal variations in eelgrass (Zostera marina). Variations in the Oceanic Nino...
The Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (BPA/Corps) jointly instituted the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP) to implement federal ecosystem restoration actions and research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE). The CEERP is composed...
An objective of many ecological restoration projects is to establish resilience to disturbances. Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) represents a useful model to evaluate resilience because the plant community is dominated by one species and the estuarine
environment is dynamic. Our studies of planted and reference plots used shoot density monitoring data...
A review of the ecology and conservation of coastal wetlands of Washington, Oregon, and California.
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 res...
West Coast estuaries are geologically young and composed of a variety of geomorphological types. These estuaries range from
large fjords to shallow lagoons; from large to low freshwater flows. Natural hazards include E1 Niños, strong Pacific storms,
and active tectonic activity. West Coast estuaries support a wide range of living resources: five sa...
Even though large-scale ecological restoration programs are beginning to supplement isolated projects implemented on rivers and tidal waterways, the effects of restoration success often continue to be evaluated at project scales or by integration in an additive manner. Today our scientific understanding is sufficient that we can begin to apply less...
What we need is a new Intichiuma,a way of linking the interests of the natural landscape with the interests and ambitions of human beings who are, as the Aborigines realize and express in their myths and rituals, responsible for its beauty and well being. Any attempt to resolve environmental problems in the other way, by placing nature and culture...
The Restoration Prioritization Framework was designed as a decision-making tool for the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, to help identify the highest-priority sites for restoration. The underlying concepts are derived from regional applications of aquatic restoration theory. The framework uses the conceptual model that physical controlling...
Juvenile Pacific salmon utilizing the recently restored Lincoln Avenue wetland system in the Puyallup River estuary, Tacoma, Washington, were studied during their spring seaward migration in 1987 and 1988. Mark/recapture experiments indicated that 0.06% of the outmigrating juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and 0.59% of the outmigrating juven...
This paper presents a systematic approach to coastal restoration projects in five phases: planning, implementation, performance assessment, adaptive management, and dissemination of results. Twenty features of the iterative planning process are synthesized. The planning process starts with a vision, a description of the ecosystem and landscape, and...
The purpose of this Adaptive Management (AM) Process Framework is to describe the AM process for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) and explain how AM principles will be used in the MRRP to reduce uncertainty and ensure that Program objectives are achieved over time. The AM Process Framework is intended...
New data, tools, and capabilities for decision making are significant needs in the northern Gulf of Mexico and other coastal areas. The goal of this project is to support NASA's Earth Science Mission Directorate and its Applied Science Program and the Gulf of Mexico Alliance by producing and providing NASA data and products that will benefit decisi...
Along the Pacific Northwest coast, much of the estuarine habitat has been lost over the last century to agricultural land use, residential and commercial development, and transportation corridors. As a result, many of the ecological processes and functions have been disrupted. To protect and improve these coastal habitats that are vital to aquatic...
Large-scale ecological restoration programs are beginning to supplement isolated projects implemented on rivers and tidal waterways. Nevertheless, the effects of estuary and river restoration often continue to be evaluated at local project scales or by integration in an additive manner. Today, we have sufficient scientific understanding to apply kn...
There is a continued need to understand how human activities along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast are impacting the natural ecosystems. The gulf coast is experiencing rapid population growth and associated land cover/land use change. Mobile Bay, AL is a designated pilot region of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) and is the focus area of many c...
In view of the fact that there are presently no cost-effective in situ treatment technologies for contaminated sediments, a 60-week-long phytoremediation feasibility study was conducted in seawater-supplied outdoor ponds to determine whether eelgrass (Zostera marina) is capable of removing polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinate...
Planners are being called on to prioritize marine shorelines for conservation status and restoration action. This study documents an approach to determining the management strategy most likely to succeed based on current conditions at local and landscape scales. The conceptual framework based in restoration ecology pairs appropriate restoration str...
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.
We developed light requirements for eelgrass in the Pacific Northwest, USA, to evaluate the effects of short- and long-term
reductions in irradiance reaching eelgrass, especially related to turbidity and overwater structures. Photosynthesis-irradiance
experiments and depth distribution field studies indicated that eelgrass productivity was maximum...
We summarize eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) restoration and mitigation project results and recommendations of transplant practitioners in the Pacific Northwest since 1990. Our purpose is to provide current information for programs considering eelgrass restoration by providing a synthesis of what practitioners and researchers have learned through expe...
Based on an analysis floristic data, a gradient appears to exist in the composition of intertidal algae along the 450 km of southern California coastline immediately south of Point Conception. Reciprocal averaging ordination of the algal flora at 51 sites in this area suggests that the gradient is not strictly latitudinal. Variation from a latitudi...
The relish of scientists for, and funding of research on, seagrasses probably stems from two sources: seagrasses are a defined taxonomic unit often growing in monotypic stands, making academic study tractable; and, seagrasses are increasingly recognized globally as important components of shallow water systems, and potential key indicators of ecosy...
This report presents the results of the Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaborative (GoMRC), a year-long project funded by NASA. The GoMRC project was organized around end user outreach activities, a science applications team, and a team for information technology (IT) development. Key outcomes are summarized below for each of these areas. End User Outre...
This study used both standardized surveys and innovative fish tagging and tracking technologies to address whether WSF terminals alter the behavior of migrating juvenile salmon, and if so, which attributes mediate abundance patterns or behavioral changes. Results showed that juvenile salmon were observed most frequently adjacent to ferry terminals,...
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 histo...
Restoration projects have an uncertain outcome because of a lack of information about current site conditions, historical disturbance levels, effects of landscape alterations on site development, unpredictable trajectories or patterns of ecosystem structural development, and many other factors. Because of these uncertainties, project costs can rise...
The global human population is growing exponentially, close to a majority lives and works near the coast, and coastal commerce and development are critical to the economies of many nations. Hence, coastal areas will continue to be a major focus of development and economic activity. People desire the economic advantages provided by coastal developme...
This report provides a framework for incorporating risk analysis into the six-step planning process for ecosystem restoration projects. This report is part of a larger research and development effort to develop procedures and guidelines for risk analysis in USACE ecosystem restoration planning. The focus is on risk analysis: identifying the range o...
The derelict Thomas Oil Dock on state tidelands in Port Townsend, Washington, was redesigned for the Northwest Maritime Center by a committee including marine scientists, architects, engineers, educators, regulators, and user groups. The committee's objectives were to create a ''demonstration dock'' using the best-available technologies and design...
Large overwater structures have often been cited as potential migratory barriers and areas of increased predation for juvenile salmon migrating along shallow shoreline habitats, although conclusive evidence has not been demonstrated to date in situ. To help resolve this issue, Washington State Ferries (WSF) sponsored directed research to determine...
Environmental factors that influence annual variability and spatial differences (within and between estuaries) in eelgrass
meadows (Zostera marine L.) were examined within Willapa Bay, Washington, and Coos Bay, Oregon, over a period of 4 years (1998–2001). A suite of
eelgrass metrics were recorded annually at field sites that spanned the estuarine...
We assessed historical changes in the location and amount of potential estuarine habitat in three of the four largest coastal
estuaries in the United States Pacific Northwest (Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, and Coos Bay) as part of the Pacific Northwest
Coastal Ecosystem Regional Study (PNCERS). To accomplish the historical assessment, navigation chart...
To address resource agency concerns about potential impacts of ferry terminal expansion on habitat functions and resource use of nearshore areas, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, conducted field trials with several products that promote light passage through dock struc...
Habitat restoration in the Columbia River estuary (CRE) is an important off-site mitigation action in the 2000 Biological Opinion (BiOp), an operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The CRE, defined as the tidally influenced stretch of river from the mouth to Bonneville Dam 146 miles upstream, is part of the migration pathway for anadr...
We describe the changes in the floral assemblage in a salt marsh after reconnection to estuarine tidal inundation. The Elk River marsh in Grays Harbor, Washington was opened to tidal flushing in 1987 after being diked for approximately 70 years. The freshwater pasture assemblage dominated by Phalarais arundinacea (reed canary grass) converted to lo...
The Washington State Department of Transportation is planning to repair and replace portions of the Hood Canal Bridge. To minimize construction impacts, it is important to spatially evaluate the location of biological resources, such as eelgrass (Zostera marina), geoduck clams (Panopea abrupta), and rockfish (Sebastes spp.), near the bridge, partic...
Juveniles of many Pacific Northwest coastal fishes and particularly anadromous species, utilise coastal marshes as “nursery”
habitats, predicating the assumption that restoration of marsh sites will promote increased fish survival and production.
However, species such as anadromous salmonids have evolved life history strategies that to various degr...
Wetlands can potentially sequester vast amounts of carbon. However, over 50% of wetlands globally have been degraded or lost. Restoration of wetland systems may therefore result in increased sequestration of carbon. Preliminary results of our investigations into atmospheric carbon sequestration by restored coastal wetlands indicate that carbon can...
To address concerns of resource agencies about the potential impacts of ferry terminal expansion on valuable habitat functions and resource use of nearshore areas, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), in partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), conducted field trials with off-the-shelf products that p...
Seagrass ecosystems are extremely valuable for supporting a wide variety of ecosystem functions and values, and are under constant threat of impairment and loss. Restoration of these systems has moved beyond the research stage and is now considered a tool that coastal managers can use
to offset damages and restore coastal ecosystems. However, resto...
This chapter provides information on developing and implementing habitat improvement measures, with a decision-making tool for undertaking adaptive management within a habitat improvement program. Habitat/biodiversity protection, impact mitigation, and habitat restoration are central philosophies in the maintenance and improvement of seagrass habit...
We have been monitoring several restored eelgrass meadows in Puget Sound and in the Northwest, and have found variable success in terms of the systems achieving identified goals. The monitoring has shown (1) early transplant survival is moderate, and no greater than 80% under optimal circumstances; (2) spread of eelgrass transplants is slow, and un...
We have been investigating the potential for variations in ocean temperature and carbon dioxide to affect nearshore vegetated communities in the Pacific Northwest. Experimental studies as well as long-term monitoring suggest that these communities will respond to climate change and that alterations in their functions may impact fisheries resources....
The shores surrounding King County have a rich variety of habitats containing a great abundance and diversity of seashore life. The seashore habitats in this largely urbanized county include rocky shores with reefs, tide pools and boulders; sandy beaches exposed to light to moderately heavy surf; and quiet bays with substrate ranging from clean san...
Wetlands provide a wide variety of ecological functions and services critical to the overall functioning of many ecosystems. Since, by definition, wetlands are wet for a significant portion of a year, the ability of wetlands to provide these functions is highly dependent on hydrology. Over half of the wetlands globally have been destroyed over the...
The objective of this study is to provide
accurate, georeferenced maps of benthic habitats
to assist in the siting of a new wastewater
treatment plant outfall and the assessment of
habitats of endangered, threatened, and
economically important species. The mapping was
conducted in the fall of 1999 using two
complementary techniques: side-scan sonar...
There is a clear need to apply better and more effective management schemes to coastal ecosystem restoration projects. It is very common for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects not to meet their goals. Poor performance has led to a high degree of uncertainty about the potential success of any restoration effort. Under adaptive management, the kn...
Ecological performance of coastal habitat and ecosystem restoration projects is not yet predictable with great certainty. The simple method developed in this paper applies the principles of adaptive management to coastal ecosystem restoration to improve the ability to assess performance and make informed decisions on how to improve performance. The...
This report describes the results of monitoring and evaluation in 1995 of a recently created estuarine slough in the brackish reaches of Grays Harbor, a coastal estuary in Washington State. As a part of the Grays Harbor Navigation Improvement Project (GHNIP), in 1990 the US Army Corps of Engineers-Seattle District (USACE-SD) constructed a 1.6-ha (—...
The purpose of this report is to provide a systematic approach to planning, implementing, and interpreting monitoring programs for restoration projects. The objective of the report is to show how a monitoring program proceeds from identification of restoration project goals, through selecting monitoring methods, and finally to interpretation and di...
I investigated the effect of CO2-enrichment on productivity of two aquatic plant species [Zostera marina L., Nereocystis luetkeana (Mert.) P. & R.] that form significant components of coastal ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Short-term (i.e., 2-hr) experiments showed that doubling CO2 resulted in up to a 2.5-fold increase in Zostera net apparen...
Assessing performance of restored and created wetlands for compensatory mitigation and restoration poses a mismatch between long-term processes and the short-term expediency of management decisions. If they were predictable, patterns in the temporal development of important wetland processes could reduce long-term uncertainty of the outcome of rest...
This report was prepared under the Engineering Environmental Investments: Formulating Inputs and Monitoring Effectiveness Work Unit of the Evaluation of Environmental Investments Research Program. This interim report is part of a series of reports to help build into the "Prototype Information Tree for Environmental Restoration Plan Formulation and...
The densities of benthic vegetation and invertebrate grazers were monitored in the seagrass system dominated by Zostera marina L. and Zostera japonica Aschers. & Graebn. in Padilla Bay, Washington. The primary invertebrate grazers included the isopod Idotea resecata Stimpson, caprellid amphipods and the gastropod Lacuna variegata Carpenter. Densiti...
Although research has been conducted on the effects of oil on the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, no similar studies have been completed on bull kelp, Nereocystis leutkeana, the dominant kelp in Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska. The effects of three petroleum products [diesel fuel, intermediate fuel oil (IFO), and crude oil] were tes...
This study was conducted in Puget Sound, USA, and investigated the effect of graveling intertidal mud and sandflats to enhance clam production on the benthic assemblage structure, primary productivity, respiration, and nutrient flux. The study was conducted between spring and autumn (1991), the period of greatest productivity and plant standing sto...
In 1988, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Seattle placed material on the upper beach at Lincoln Park, in West Seattle, Washington. The fill served to mitigate shoreline erosion that had caused undercutting and collapse of the seawall in several places. A series of pre- and post-construction studies have been conducted to assess the im...
Salt-marsh accretion rate was investigated at sites that spanned a gradient in relative rate of sealevel rise in Washington
and Oregon. Mean accretion rate over all sites was 3.6 mm yr−1 (95% CI=2.4 to 4.8 mm yr1), which exceeded present mean sea-level-rise rate (1.3 mm yr1; sd=0.6). However, a mean rise rate of 5.5 mm yr−1 (sd=1.9) predicted by a...
The functional value of a restored estuarine wetland as a foraging area for juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and fall chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) was evaluated during the spring seaward migrations of each species in 1987 and 1988. During both years, fish foraged selectively.
While temporarily residing in the restored wetland, both salmo...
The spatial patterns of standing stock and net above-ground primary production (NPP) of benthic autotrophic components (Zostera marina and Zostera japonica, epiphytic algae and benthic sediment associated algae) of the eelgrass meadow in Padilla Bay, Washington, were studied seasonally for one year. Eelgrass extended from approximately 1.0m above M...
The standing stock of benthic macroalgae, sediment-associated microalgae and eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) was sampled in conjunction with irradiance and water properties from June 1982 through March 1984 to examine the relationship between the dynamics of benthic primary producers and environmental factors in central Puget Sound, Washington, USA. S...
Eelgrass meadows cover much of the lower intertidal and subtidal space in Northwest estuaries. They have been subjected to degradation and loss due to shoreline development and pollution. The potential success of constructing a functioning eelgrass meadow is examined and recommendations are given. -Author
Twenty-nine taxa of macroalgae were collected from the Grays Harbor Estuary, Washington, from 17 April 1980 to 4 June 1981.
Outer (oceanic) sites contained higher numbers of species than sites located in the inner portion of the estuary. Macroalgae
were found in several habitats including attached to boulders, logs, tree roots, other algae, and ang...
The abundance and morphological features of Fucus distichus ssp. edentatus at sites differing in depth, wave activity and sewage pollution in Central Puget Sound were investigated. Temporal patterns in parameters of a high intertidal population of F. distichus ssp. edentatus were also described. Percentage cover of this taxon declined with increasi...
A biological survey of the subtidal fauna near an intertidal combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharging into Puget Sound, Washington, USA, was conducted during April and May, 1977. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the CSO on the surrounding marine invertebrate communities.The shallowest subtidal sites studied (9 m below MLLW)...
The species composition, number of species, and percentage cover of algae found on low littoral rocky substrata in Central Puget Sound, Washington, were sampled seasonally for two years. Algal cover (primarily green algae) was highest during summer and autumn, and lowest in winter. Fluctuations in algal cover were positively correlated with air tem...
