News

PMEP is proud to announce the release of Eelgrass Restoration on the U.S. West Coast: A Comprehensive Assessment of Restoration Techniques and Their Outcomes. Eelgrass is an important foundation species along the U.S. West Coast, supporting a suite of ecosystem services and functions and providing food and shelter for many fishes and invertebrates. In 2018, PMEP published Eelgrass Habitats on The U.S. West Coast: State of the Knowledge of Eelgrass Ecosystem Services and Eelgrass Extent and compiled a geodatabase of eelgrass presence/absence and current and historic extent of eelgrass in 444 estuaries along the U.S. West Coast. In 2020, PMEP commissioned this new report to synthesize eelgrass restoration project successes along the U.S. West Coast to identify best practices for eelgrass restoration and mitigation. The authors of the report reviewed and synthesized data from 51 eelgrass restoration (non-mitigation and mitigation) projects from California, Oregon, and Washington.  They identified those methods and approaches that resulted in successful restoration.  The report was prepared by Kathryn Beheshti and Melissa Ward and was funded by Pew Charitable Trusts with support from the Friends of the South Slough Reserve.

Access the project webpage HERE.

Photo credit: Melissa Ward

NOAA is funding four projects sponsored by National Fish Habitat Partnerships designed to enhance recreational fisheries engagement and restore habitat through the coastal National Fish Habitat Partnerships. PMEP is supporting the restoration of tidal influence to the Point No Point Estuary in Kitsap County, Washington. The Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group is collaborating with the Kitsap County Parks Department to remove a malfunctioning tide gate to convert freshwater wetlands back into salt marsh habitat. Restoring tidal connectivity in this 32-acre area will provide critical nearshore habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon by restoring ecosystem processes at a key site along migratory salmon routes in and out of Puget Sound. the project also engages the local North Kitsap Puget Sound Anglers and other local fishers to collect data before and after restoration. Local engagement efforts will include education and outreach around the project and its importance. The project supports the NOAA Fisheries Puget Sound Chinook Recovery Plan, is integrated with regional salmon recovery efforts and helps PMEP reach its goal to improve connectivity within estuarine and nearshore fish habitat.

PMEP, in collaboration with the California Fish Passage Forum and the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative, has launched a new Barriers to Tidal Connectivity data hub of resources developed through a collaborative project to improve our understanding of tidal connectivity issues along the US West Coast.

The data hub includes a data catalog of West Coast datasets of culverts, tide gates, levees and dikes, railways, and roads as well as maps identifying tidally restricted areas. This innovative data catalog assembles datasets managed by a variety of agencies including California’s Passage Assessment Database (PAD), Oregon’s Fish Passage Barriers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Passage Inventory, and the Washington Levee Inventory. Viewers can access all these datasets and visualize the extent of barriers to tidal connectivity for purposes of restoration, research, and planning.

Through the data hub, you can also access copies and recordings of presentations given at the recent Barriers to Tidal Connectivity Symposium held October 28, 2020. And other resources and reports can be accessed through the hub.

This data hub is a product of a collaborative effort by the three fish habitat partnerships made possible with generous support from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

You can find out more on Barriers to Tidal Connectivity on the PMEP website by clicking on the projects tab, or you can head directly to the data hub here.