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The Estuary Partnership is accepting proposals for habitat restoration projects in the lower Columbia River. Projects should be designed to improve the access to and quality of rearing and refuge habitat for juvenile Pacific salmonids. Funding can be used to support multiple phases of restoration projects including planning and design, permitting, and implementation. An estimated $2,000,000 in funding is available each year. Individual grants will range from $50,000 to $500,000. Project proposals are due at 4 p.m. on April 17, 2015. 

Click here for more information on our habitat restoration

20 years ago, the outlook for bald eagles in the lower Columbia River was dismal

Research in the early 1990s found that eagles nesting along sections of the lower Columbia River produced only half as many young per nest as eagles nesting elsewhere in Oregon and Washington. DDT and other organochlorine compounds, which were banned in the 1970s, persist in water and sediment and accumulate in the fatty tissues of organisms living in the river. Fish and birds that depend on these organisms for food bioaccumulate the organochlorines in their bodies over time as they eat prey from the river. These

Oregon Live has a great article about the 50+ new signs going up along the Lower Columbia River Water Trail this spring and summer. Give it a read! 

Mark your calendars! Our 2015 summer community paddle series dates are set. Join the Estuary Partnership in our Big Canoes to explore your watershed. Our experienced environmental educators lead the group outings in our stable 29-foot canoes. Paddles are FREE and great for new paddlers, groups, and families.

Registration is required; paddle registration opens 6 weeks before each paddle at 7am.

Get the flyer with all paddle dates here!

We want you to Experience Vancouver Lake! The Estuary Partnership has joined with Clark County, the City of Vancouver, and Port of Vancouver USA to promote this regional treasure. Over the next year, the Estuary Partnership will host a variety of recreational and stewardship events at the lake, and will help to get more local residents out to enjoy their lake. We hope you will join us!

The Columbian shared the exciting news. Read their coverage.

A reporter from West Linn joined us on our recent paddle on the Willamette Narrows. Read the article in The West Linn Tidings.

An Oregonian photographer captured our Paddle & Pull on Ross Island with Willamette Riverkeeper. Check out the story and the great photos on Oregon Live!

The Estuary Partnership is requesting bids from contractors to implement a large habitat restoration project on the East Fork Lewis River near La Center, Washington. The RFB was released on July 22, and there is a mandatory, on-site, pre-bid meeting in La Center on Friday, July 24 at 10:00 am. More information on the project, the RFB, and the mandatory meeting is available here. 

The Reflector published a great article about our wetlands restoration project currently in progress at La Center Bottoms. We are restoring tidal influence to the area for salmon and other wildlife while preserving the natural area's recreational uses for people, and engaging students and volunteers in re-planting native vegetation. Read the whole article here!

Toxics Still Persist in the River

Between 1989 and 1995, the Lower Columbia River Bi-State Water Quality Program (the predecessor to the Estuary Partnership) collected data on water quality and toxic contaminants in the lower river and estuary, generating a large dataset on the threats to the health of the river and the organisms that live there.

Since then, the Estuary Partnership has only had funding to monitor sporadically when funds were available. Between 2004 and 2007, monitoring results showed high levels of contaminants such as PCBs, PAHs, DDT, and PBDEs in juvenile salmon tissue, water