Home / Monitoring
Monitoring
Tracking estuary health to guide and adapt restoration efforts
A Responsive Framework for Ecological Restoration
CEERP’s monitoring efforts are dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and sharing key data on the estuary’s ecological conditions to support effective conservation and restoration efforts. In service of CEERP’s adaptive management approach, the program pairs long-term status and trend data from our Ecosystem Monitoring Program with Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research to better understand, and adapt to, the complex ecological processes of the estuary.
Ecosystem Monitoring Program
The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership oversees the EMP, which is designed to track the overall status and trends of the lower Columbia River through long-term data collection.
Through the EMP, a consortium of academic and agency researchers use monitoring protocols to gather essential long-term data on ecological conditions across six minimally disturbed tidal wetland sites in the lower river system. These reference sites represent typical habitats for migrating juvenile salmon. This information enhances our understanding of river and habitat conditions, aiding in the recovery of threatened and endangered salmon species.
The program is a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies and universities, studying changes from the mouth of the river to Bonneville Dam. The primary goal of the EMP is to collect baseline data on habitats utilized by migrating salmon.
The Ecosystem Monitoring Program
Identifies different habitat types in the lower river
The program inventories and monitors various habitats throughout the lower Columbia River Estuary, focusing on those essential for migrating juvenile salmon.
Monitors changes to the condition of these habitats over time
Researchers collect vital data on how ecological conditions of the six trends sites in the estuary evolve over time and how these changes affect their use by migrating juvenile salmon.
Provides reference sites for habitat restoration projects
The EMP’s reference sites represent optimal conditions for salmon habitats, guiding restoration efforts to support the recovery of threatened and endangered salmon species.
Analyzes how management actions impact the broader Lower Columbia ecosystem
EMP’s long-term monitoring and data collection processes enable researchers to assess the impact of CEERP’s restoration efforts, informing and improving effective management strategies.
Explore the Ecosystem Monitoring Program Dashboard for visualizations of the data gathered by the EMP.
Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research
CEERP’s Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research (AEMR) program provides detailed insights about the impact of habitat restoration actions on salmon habitats to enhance future restoration projects.
Researchers employ standard monitoring protocols to examine key indicators such as water temperature, sediment accretion, hydrology, vegetation health, and fish use. These data are collected before and after management actions at sites selected for their potential to help better understand restoration benefits at site and landscape scales. The insights gained from this program enable practitioners to refine restoration techniques, ensuring that future restoration efforts deliver maximum ecological benefits.
In conjunction with the EMP, AEMR fosters adaptive management by providing critical feedback to restoration efforts, allowing for ongoing adjustments and enhancements to the estuary based on empirical data and observed outcomes.
View the Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research Dashboard for monitoring data from restoration sites throughout the estuary!
AEMR data captures the direct and indirect benefits of ecosystem restoration, from refuge and prey production in tidal wetlands to enriching food webs in the main stem of the river. (Illustration developed by Nikki Sather and Rose Perry at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Key Resources and Publications
The CEERP Synthesis Memos provide synthesis and evaluation of results from CEERP implementation
- Synthesis Memo 1 (2012)
- Synthesis Memo 2 (2018)
- Synthesis Memo 3 (in progress)
Monitoring Protocols are followed under the Ecosystem Monitoring and Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research Programs
The Action Effectiveness Monitoring Programmatic Plan presents a programmatic approach to action effectiveness monitoring and research that regional stakeholders can implement to support CEERP
Annual reports present results for the Ecosystem Monitoring and Action Effectiveness Monitoring and Research Programs
UNDERSTAND | CONSERVE | RESTORE