Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project featured in NFHP’s Waters to Watch!

PMEP is proud to announce that the Neskowin Fish Passage Improvement Project was selected by the National Fish Habitat Partnership as a 2022 Waters to Watch project! A project of the Nestucca, Neskowin & Sand Lake Watersheds Council, the project received  PMEP funding in 2020, and the project was completed in 2022.

The project included a strong partnership with the Tillamook County Public Works Department and restored fish passage within the Neskowin Estuary-Wetland complex benefiting multiple species including ESA listed Coho salmon at the same time providing emergency egress to the local community during flooding events. The project increased access to 250 acres of riverine estuary, tidal scrub/shrub and tidal forest wetland rearing habitat and 5 miles of spawning habitat for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, Chum salmon, Steelhead trout, Pacific lamprey, and Cutthroat trout. The project replaced three undersized culverts and two tidegates with two 32’ bridges sized to meet federal and state fish passage requirements.

The Waters to Watch Program highlights ten outstanding fish habitat restoration projects nationwide to focus attention on rivers, streams and shores that will be cleaner and healthier habitats for the many fish and wildlife species and people who call these areas home

You can read about this and the other Waters to Watch projects here.

State of the Knowledge of U.S. West Coast Nearshore Habitat Use by Fish Assemblages and Select Invertebrates Available Now!

PMEP is delighted to announce that the State of the Knowledge of U.S. West Coast Nearshore Habitat Use by Fish Assemblages and Select Invertebrates report and data products are now available!

PMEP has compiled standardized spatial data on nearshore habitats within defined nearshore zones to reflect what we know about nearshore habitat classification and extent along the entire U.S. West Coast. PMEP developed the Nearshore Project with three main objectives:

  1. Define and map boundaries for delineating nearshore zones along the U.S. West Coast.
  2. Compile and standardize spatial data on nearshore habitats within defined nearshore zones.
  3. Produce a state-of-the-knowledge report on U.S. West Coast nearshore fish and invertebrate habitats.

Nearshore areas are delineated by PMEP ecoregions, which include the Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, Central California, and Southern California Bight. Each ecoregion section describes the habitats by nearshore zones, fish assemblages, and invertebrate use. Nearshore habitat data from multiple sources was standardized using the Coastal Marine Ecological Classification System (CMECS).

The report and data products provide a baseline for investigating changes, shifts, and adaptations of habitats for nearshore marine species along the entire U.S. West Coast. The geodatabase includes feature classes of nearshore zones and biotic and substrate habitat layers, and the data products are designed for use by resource managers, restoration practitioners, and researchers.

Please check it out!

Photo credit: A. Obaza, Paua Marine Research Group

PMEP Funded Projects 2022

PMEP is pleased to announce the award of over $230,000 to the following five fish habitat restoration projects for 2022.

  • Sequalitchew Creek Estuary Restoration Design Alternatives
  • Polnell Point Armor Removal and Restoration
  • Aiston Preserve Nearshore Restoration
  • Eelgrass restoration in Washington & Oregon
  • Zangle Cove Restoration

These projects represent important conservation priorities of PMEP, restoring eelgrass, nearshore sediment transport processes, and habitat connectivity. The projects were evaluated by a PMEP review panel and the PMEP Steering Committee and the board of the National Fish Habitat Partnership against PMEP and national conservation priorities. Funding comes from the National Fish Habitat Partnership and will be managed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more detailed descriptions of the funded projects check out our funded projects page, or take a look at our interactive story map.

Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has supported over 1,000 projects benefiting fish habitats in all 50 states. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitats nationwide; leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships.

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