The goal of this project is to provide scientific support for implementation of the federal Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP).  This work includes facilitation of CEERP’s Expert Regional Technical Group (ERTG) for estuary habitat restoration and implementation of CEERP’s adaptive management process.  The project will also investigate CEERP restoration design challenges.  Overall, this project will aid the Action Agencies in estuary-related aspects of implementation of the 2019 Biological Opinion (BiOp) on operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) (National Marine Fisheries Service 2019 ).  The project will also help the Action Agencies as they plan for CEERP after the 2019 BiOp ends and a new BiOp is instituted, scheduled for June 2020.

Comprehensive research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) and estuary habitat restoration by the Action Agencies (Bonneville Power Administration [BPA] and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Corps]), as originally stipulated in the 2008 FCPRS BiOp and incorporated in subsequent BiOps, are ongoing in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE).  Since 2009, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been contracted annually by BPA to provide technical support to CEERP and facilitate the ERTG.  

CEERP’s adaptive management process has become institutionalized (Ebberts et al. 2017).  This project will support CEERP through development of the annual CEERP Restoration and Monitoring Plan, related program documents, and the biennial Columbia River Estuary Conference.

Implementation of restoration projects in the CEERP restoration program has identified design challenges (RDCs) regarding the effectiveness of certain restoration techniques.  These challenges can adversely affect timelines of individual restoration project engineering designs, and result in inadequate information for cost-benefit analysis.  Moreover, there is a need for program-scale information developed from multiple sources and ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and disseminated to support restoration planners.  These types of restoration design challenges have not typically been monitored as part of the CEERP action effectiveness monitoring and research.  Therefore, focused investigations of specific design challenges is warranted.