The lower Columbia River (Wimahl in Upper Chinook and Nch’i-Wàna in Sahaptin) has been inhabited and stewarded by numerous tribes and bands of Indigenous peoples since time immemorial, and these peoples continue to have a deep and abiding connection to our lands and waters. The broad geography of the lower Columbia historically included dozens of seasonal and permanent villages and an interconnected web of tribal affiliations. Tribes including the Chinook, Clatsop, Kathlamet, Wahkiakum, Multnomah, Cascades, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, Wasco, Clackamas, Cowlitz, Skilloot, and Atfalati have ancestral connections to the lower Columbia and continue to be stewards of the river. We recognize that tribal territories were often shared and overlapping, and that this may be an incomplete list of those who lived on these lands. We pay respect to the elders, both past and present, who have stewarded the waters and lands of the Columbia River throughout generations. Read more.

Our mission is to improve the lower Columbia River by protecting and restoring ecosystems and enhancing water quality for current and future generations of fish, wildlife, and people.

The National Estuary Program ensures our critical coastal waterways are healthy and support the communities around them. National Estuary Programs are local people working together to restore the water quality and ecological integrity of the 28 estuaries of national significance across the United States, including the lower Columbia River. 

Created by Congress in 1987, the National Estuary Program provides seed money to local communities, who leverage those resources to improve habitat, find solutions to difficult ecological issues, support our coastal economies, and engage community members to care for their waterways.