Search

Search Results

• 1. [Article] When is bigger better? Early marine residence of middle and upper Columbia River spring Chinook salmon

  This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Inter-Research and can be found at: http://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: When is bigger better? Early marine residence of middle and upper Columbia River spring Chinook salmon Author: Teel, David J., Miller, Jessica A., Tomaro, Londi M., Peterson, William T. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Inter-Research and can be found at: http://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Title: When is bigger better? Early marine residence of middle and upper Columbia River spring Chinook salmon Author: Teel, David J., Miller, Jessica A., Tomaro, Londi M., Peterson, William T. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Inter-Research and can be found at: http://www.int-res.com/journals/meps/meps-home/. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. Close

• 2. [Article] A Model of Mesodinium Rubrum Blooms in the Columbia River Estuary

  Every year in the late summer, patches of the Columbia River estuary begin to turn red. These patches are blooms of mixotrophic ciliates (Myrionecta rubra or Mesodinium rubrum/major) (MR) that ingest the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A Model of Mesodinium Rubrum Blooms in the Columbia River Estuary Author: Sherry, Elisabeth J. Every year in the late summer, patches of the Columbia River estuary begin to turn red. These patches are blooms of mixotrophic ciliates (Myrionecta rubra or Mesodinium rubrum/major) (MR) that ingest the chloroplast of their prey, the cryptophytes (CR) Teleaulax amphioxeia (Peterson et al., 2013), and use the acquired organs to photosynthesize. The ecological cues that trigger this bloom and its impact on the estuary biogeochemistry are not fully understood. A one-dimensional five-component ecosystem model was applied and tested in a MATLAB framework. This paper describes sensitivity analyses of the model with respect to nitrate advection, MR and CR maximum uptake and mortality rates, and the rate of MR photosynthesis. The impact of vertical migration and the importance of the seed population were also considered. A set of parameters was selected to produce an optimal surface bloom of MR and CR comparable to the one observed in the chlorophyll-a and phycoerythrin measured at the south channel endurance station, SATURN 03, in 2010. Most of the parameters are positively correlated with the MR and CR bloom timing, duration, and peak. Due to the MR photoautotrophy dependence on their prey, parameters related to CR have the strongest impact on the MR bloom. Title: A Model of Mesodinium Rubrum Blooms in the Columbia River Estuary Author: Sherry, Elisabeth J. Every year in the late summer, patches of the Columbia River estuary begin to turn red. These patches are blooms of mixotrophic ciliates (Myrionecta rubra or Mesodinium rubrum/major) (MR) that ingest the chloroplast of their prey, the cryptophytes (CR) Teleaulax amphioxeia (Peterson et al., 2013), and use the acquired organs to photosynthesize. The ecological cues that trigger this bloom and its impact on the estuary biogeochemistry are not fully understood. A one-dimensional five-component ecosystem model was applied and tested in a MATLAB framework. This paper describes sensitivity analyses of the model with respect to nitrate advection, MR and CR maximum uptake and mortality rates, and the rate of MR photosynthesis. The impact of vertical migration and the importance of the seed population were also considered. A set of parameters was selected to produce an optimal surface bloom of MR and CR comparable to the one observed in the chlorophyll-a and phycoerythrin measured at the south channel endurance station, SATURN 03, in 2010. Most of the parameters are positively correlated with the MR and CR bloom timing, duration, and peak. Due to the MR photoautotrophy dependence on their prey, parameters related to CR have the strongest impact on the MR bloom. Close

• 3. [Article] Life histories of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River estuary as inferred from scale and otolith microchemistry

  Despite evidence that juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) utilize North Pacific estuaries for growth and salinity acclimation, research in the Columbia River estuary has lead to opposing ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Life histories of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River estuary as inferred from scale and otolith microchemistry Author: Campbell, Lance A. Despite evidence that juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) utilize North Pacific estuaries for growth and salinity acclimation, research in the Columbia River estuary has lead to opposing hypotheses about the estuary’s importance as a salmon rearing environment. Many contemporary tagging studies indicate that salmon residency within the estuary is short (< 1 week) and that mortality of estuarine migrants is a significant impediment to recovery of depressed salmon stocks. On the other hand, life history interpretations from fish scales collected early in the twentieth century suggest that juvenile Chinook salmon reared extensively in the estuary, leading some to hypothesize that life history variation has been constrained by anthropogenic changes in the Columbia River basin. To test these hypotheses we first validated previous methods of life history interpretation by comparing the results of otolith chemistry, scale chemistry, and scale morphology from juvenile salmon collected during monthly beach seine surveys in 2003. Although scale and otolith chemistry were strongly correlated, and scale chemistry was an accurate indicator of salt-water entry, scale morphometric characteristics did not coincide consistently with the time of salmon entry into brackish water. We measured Strontium 86 and Calcium 43 in salmon otoliths collected in the lower Columbia River estuary in 2003-05 to quantify the period of salt-water residency of juvenile salmon and to back-calculate their size at salt-water entry. The estimated salt-water residency of juvenile Chinook ranged from 0-176 days with a mean residence time of 54, 67 and 30 days in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. Chinook salmon that resided in salt water for more than 30 days comprised 55, 51 and 30% of the total estuary beach seine collections during each of these years. Forty to fifty percent of Chinook salmon had entered the saline portion of the estuary at a fork length < 60 mm. Furthermore we found a negative relationship between the size and time of entry with residency, where smaller earlier migrants on average resided for longer periods then larger late migrants. Peak migration times occurred in May, and 90% of the outmigration was completed by August 30 in all years. This pattern is substantially truncated relative to the results of a 1914-1916 salmon life-history survey, which showed that the historical outmigration period lasted well into the fall and was characterized by late pulses of new recruits into the lower estuary. Nonetheless, recent otolith results indicate that subyearling Chinook salmon use the saline portion of the estuary in a high proportion and for extended periods of time in contrast to short residency times reported by contemporary tagging and marking studies. Title: Life histories of juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River estuary as inferred from scale and otolith microchemistry Author: Campbell, Lance A. Despite evidence that juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) utilize North Pacific estuaries for growth and salinity acclimation, research in the Columbia River estuary has lead to opposing hypotheses about the estuary’s importance as a salmon rearing environment. Many contemporary tagging studies indicate that salmon residency within the estuary is short (< 1 week) and that mortality of estuarine migrants is a significant impediment to recovery of depressed salmon stocks. On the other hand, life history interpretations from fish scales collected early in the twentieth century suggest that juvenile Chinook salmon reared extensively in the estuary, leading some to hypothesize that life history variation has been constrained by anthropogenic changes in the Columbia River basin. To test these hypotheses we first validated previous methods of life history interpretation by comparing the results of otolith chemistry, scale chemistry, and scale morphology from juvenile salmon collected during monthly beach seine surveys in 2003. Although scale and otolith chemistry were strongly correlated, and scale chemistry was an accurate indicator of salt-water entry, scale morphometric characteristics did not coincide consistently with the time of salmon entry into brackish water. We measured Strontium 86 and Calcium 43 in salmon otoliths collected in the lower Columbia River estuary in 2003-05 to quantify the period of salt-water residency of juvenile salmon and to back-calculate their size at salt-water entry. The estimated salt-water residency of juvenile Chinook ranged from 0-176 days with a mean residence time of 54, 67 and 30 days in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. Chinook salmon that resided in salt water for more than 30 days comprised 55, 51 and 30% of the total estuary beach seine collections during each of these years. Forty to fifty percent of Chinook salmon had entered the saline portion of the estuary at a fork length < 60 mm. Furthermore we found a negative relationship between the size and time of entry with residency, where smaller earlier migrants on average resided for longer periods then larger late migrants. Peak migration times occurred in May, and 90% of the outmigration was completed by August 30 in all years. This pattern is substantially truncated relative to the results of a 1914-1916 salmon life-history survey, which showed that the historical outmigration period lasted well into the fall and was characterized by late pulses of new recruits into the lower estuary. Nonetheless, recent otolith results indicate that subyearling Chinook salmon use the saline portion of the estuary in a high proportion and for extended periods of time in contrast to short residency times reported by contemporary tagging and marking studies. Close

• 4. [Article] Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s Cormorants (P. penicillatus) Breeding at East Sand Island in the Columbia River Estuary : Foraging Ecology, Colony Connectivity, and Overwinter Dispersal

  Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s cormorants (P. penicillatus) nest sympatrically in a large mixed-species colony on East Sand Island (ESI) in the Columbia River estuary. Ecological ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s Cormorants (P. penicillatus) Breeding at East Sand Island in the Columbia River Estuary : Foraging Ecology, Colony Connectivity, and Overwinter Dispersal Author: Peck-Richardson, Adam Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s cormorants (P. penicillatus) nest sympatrically in a large mixed-species colony on East Sand Island (ESI) in the Columbia River estuary. Ecological theory predicts that such morphologically similar species will partition prey resources when faced with resource limitations. During the summer of 2014, I investigated local movements, foraging dive behavior, and foraging habitat selection by breeding adults of both cormorant species using GPS tags with integrated temperature and depth data-loggers (GPS-TDlog, Earth & Ocean Technologies). The overall foraging areas and core foraging areas (defined as the 95% and 50% kernel density estimates of dive locations, respectively) of double-crested cormorants were much larger and covered a broader range of estuarine habitats than those of Brandt’s cormorants. Only 26% and 27% of the overall and core foraging areas, respectively, for double-crested cormorants overlapped with those of Brandt’s cormorants. Most of the overall and core foraging areas of Brandt’s cormorants (59% and 89%, respectively) overlapped with those of double-crested cormorants, however. Within areas of overlap, Brandt’s cormorants tended to dive deeper (median depth = 6.48 m) than double-crested cormorants (median depth = 2.67 m), and selected dive locations where the water was deeper. After accounting for local water depth, Brandt’s cormorants utilized a deeper, more benthic portion of the water column than did double-crested cormorants. Our results indicate that species-specific patterns of foraging habitat utilization likely reflect past evolutionary divergence in foraging niche and evolved differences in behavioral and physiological adaptations, resulting in some partitioning of prey resources that would mitigate interspecific competition. Nevertheless, the substantial overlap in foraging habitat between the two cormorant species, particularly for Brandt’s cormorants, suggests that superabundant prey resources allow these two large and productive cormorant colonies to coexist on a single island near the mouth of the Columbia River. Annual consumption of millions of out-migrating juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), including smolts from populations listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, by double-crested cormorants nesting at ESI motivated natural resource managers to investigate potential management techniques to reduce cormorant predation by reducing the size of the breeding colony. To better understand potential dispersal of cormorants from the ESI colony due to management to reduce colony size, satellite transmitters were fitted on 83 double-crested cormorants captured on the ESI colony before egg-laying in 2013. Dispersal from ESI immediately following tagging was nearly ubiquitous, but temporary, and provided limited information on where cormorants might prospect for alternative nest sites if prevented from nesting on ESI. During this initial pre-nesting period, tagged cormorants were detected at colonies and roost sites as far from ESI as the Puget Sound region of coastal Washington; nevertheless, all but 4% of tagged cormorants returned to ESI within 2 weeks of being tagged. Following the subsequent breeding season, tagged cormorants staged at several nearby estuaries before migrating both north and south from ESI to overwinter in areas from British Columbia to northwestern Mexico; only 3% overwintered in the Columbia River estuary. Tracking data revealed substantial connectivity between the ESI colony and other colonies and regions within the range of the western North America population, suggesting the potential for widespread dispersal throughout the population’s breeding range if nesting habitat on ESI was reduced or eliminated. Dispersal did not extend across the Cascade-Sierra Divide, however; greater connectivity existed with estuary locations throughout the range and particularly with more proximate estuaries that served as post-breeding staging areas. Surprisingly low regional and colony connectivity was observed with the Oregon Coast, despite numerous active and historical colonies in that region, as well as proximity to the colony at ESI. The strong philopatry to ESI that nearly all tagged cormorants exhibited, however, suggests that few alternative nesting opportunities are as attractive for prospecting double-crested cormorants as the ESI colony site. Title: Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s Cormorants (P. penicillatus) Breeding at East Sand Island in the Columbia River Estuary : Foraging Ecology, Colony Connectivity, and Overwinter Dispersal Author: Peck-Richardson, Adam Double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and Brandt’s cormorants (P. penicillatus) nest sympatrically in a large mixed-species colony on East Sand Island (ESI) in the Columbia River estuary. Ecological theory predicts that such morphologically similar species will partition prey resources when faced with resource limitations. During the summer of 2014, I investigated local movements, foraging dive behavior, and foraging habitat selection by breeding adults of both cormorant species using GPS tags with integrated temperature and depth data-loggers (GPS-TDlog, Earth & Ocean Technologies). The overall foraging areas and core foraging areas (defined as the 95% and 50% kernel density estimates of dive locations, respectively) of double-crested cormorants were much larger and covered a broader range of estuarine habitats than those of Brandt’s cormorants. Only 26% and 27% of the overall and core foraging areas, respectively, for double-crested cormorants overlapped with those of Brandt’s cormorants. Most of the overall and core foraging areas of Brandt’s cormorants (59% and 89%, respectively) overlapped with those of double-crested cormorants, however. Within areas of overlap, Brandt’s cormorants tended to dive deeper (median depth = 6.48 m) than double-crested cormorants (median depth = 2.67 m), and selected dive locations where the water was deeper. After accounting for local water depth, Brandt’s cormorants utilized a deeper, more benthic portion of the water column than did double-crested cormorants. Our results indicate that species-specific patterns of foraging habitat utilization likely reflect past evolutionary divergence in foraging niche and evolved differences in behavioral and physiological adaptations, resulting in some partitioning of prey resources that would mitigate interspecific competition. Nevertheless, the substantial overlap in foraging habitat between the two cormorant species, particularly for Brandt’s cormorants, suggests that superabundant prey resources allow these two large and productive cormorant colonies to coexist on a single island near the mouth of the Columbia River. Annual consumption of millions of out-migrating juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), including smolts from populations listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, by double-crested cormorants nesting at ESI motivated natural resource managers to investigate potential management techniques to reduce cormorant predation by reducing the size of the breeding colony. To better understand potential dispersal of cormorants from the ESI colony due to management to reduce colony size, satellite transmitters were fitted on 83 double-crested cormorants captured on the ESI colony before egg-laying in 2013. Dispersal from ESI immediately following tagging was nearly ubiquitous, but temporary, and provided limited information on where cormorants might prospect for alternative nest sites if prevented from nesting on ESI. During this initial pre-nesting period, tagged cormorants were detected at colonies and roost sites as far from ESI as the Puget Sound region of coastal Washington; nevertheless, all but 4% of tagged cormorants returned to ESI within 2 weeks of being tagged. Following the subsequent breeding season, tagged cormorants staged at several nearby estuaries before migrating both north and south from ESI to overwinter in areas from British Columbia to northwestern Mexico; only 3% overwintered in the Columbia River estuary. Tracking data revealed substantial connectivity between the ESI colony and other colonies and regions within the range of the western North America population, suggesting the potential for widespread dispersal throughout the population’s breeding range if nesting habitat on ESI was reduced or eliminated. Dispersal did not extend across the Cascade-Sierra Divide, however; greater connectivity existed with estuary locations throughout the range and particularly with more proximate estuaries that served as post-breeding staging areas. Surprisingly low regional and colony connectivity was observed with the Oregon Coast, despite numerous active and historical colonies in that region, as well as proximity to the colony at ESI. The strong philopatry to ESI that nearly all tagged cormorants exhibited, however, suggests that few alternative nesting opportunities are as attractive for prospecting double-crested cormorants as the ESI colony site. Close

• 5. [Article] Marine bird aggregations associated with the tidally-driven plume and plume fronts of the Columbia River

  To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Marine bird aggregations associated with the tidally-driven plume and plume fronts of the Columbia River Author: Guy, Troy J., Phillips, Elizabeth M., Zamon, Jeannette E. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography. Title: Marine bird aggregations associated with the tidally-driven plume and plume fronts of the Columbia River Author: Guy, Troy J., Phillips, Elizabeth M., Zamon, Jeannette E. To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography. Close

• 6. [Article] Bioenergetics-based predator-prey relationships between piscivorous birds and juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River estuary

  This dissertation focuses on the predator-prey relationship between two species of avian predators, Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), and one of ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Bioenergetics-based predator-prey relationships between piscivorous birds and juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River estuary Author: Lyons, Donald E. This dissertation focuses on the predator-prey relationship between two species of avian predators, Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), and one of their important prey types, juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), in the Columbia River estuary of Oregon and Washington states during the period 1998 – 2007. I used a data-rich bioenergetics framework to estimate juvenile salmonid consumption by these two avian predators, assessed impacts to at-risk salmonid populations by estimating salmonid mortality rates due to avian predation, and estimated potential demographic benefits to salmonids if avian predation were reduced. The managed relocation of the Caspian tern colony from Rice Island to East Sand Island, lower in the Columbia River estuary, reduced tern predation on salmonids from over 11 million smolts consumed annually to 4 – 7 million, but those benefits accrued primarily to sub-yearling Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha). Combined consumption of juvenile salmonids by Caspian terns and double-crested cormorants in the Columbia River estuary was ca. 7 – 15 million smolts per year during 2006-2007, causing an 8 – 17% mortality rate among smolts migrating through the estuary, with higher mortality rates for steelhead (O. mykiss) and coho salmon (O. kisutch). Under a potential management scenario to reduce avian predation by both species, improvements in the average annual population growth rate (λ) of salmonids ranged from 0.4% for sub-yearling Chinook to 3.1% for coho. These improvements are generally less than what is possible from altered hydropower system operation within the Columbia Basin for salmonid populations that are more severely affected by dams. For a few salmonid populations, reduced avian predation might contribute to stabilizing the population (λ = 1), but would need to be part of a broader recovery strategy to ensure population growth and recovery (λ > 1). Climate was an important factor modulating Caspian tern predation on salmonids, with greater consumption of smolts occurring in years of cooler ocean conditions and higher Columbia River flows. Climate did not contribute to variation in consumption of salmonids by cormorants, perhaps due to the larger effect of growth in the size of the cormorant colony during the study period. Due to current trends in colony size (terns: stable, cormorants: increasing) and the planned dispersal of a portion of the tern population, cormorant predation will likely be a more significant mortality factor for Columbia Basin salmonids in the future than will tern predation. A critical unknown factor remains; that is the degree to which reductions in avian predation on salmonids might be compensated for by other salmonid mortality factors. Title: Bioenergetics-based predator-prey relationships between piscivorous birds and juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River estuary Author: Lyons, Donald E. This dissertation focuses on the predator-prey relationship between two species of avian predators, Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), and one of their important prey types, juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), in the Columbia River estuary of Oregon and Washington states during the period 1998 – 2007. I used a data-rich bioenergetics framework to estimate juvenile salmonid consumption by these two avian predators, assessed impacts to at-risk salmonid populations by estimating salmonid mortality rates due to avian predation, and estimated potential demographic benefits to salmonids if avian predation were reduced. The managed relocation of the Caspian tern colony from Rice Island to East Sand Island, lower in the Columbia River estuary, reduced tern predation on salmonids from over 11 million smolts consumed annually to 4 – 7 million, but those benefits accrued primarily to sub-yearling Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha). Combined consumption of juvenile salmonids by Caspian terns and double-crested cormorants in the Columbia River estuary was ca. 7 – 15 million smolts per year during 2006-2007, causing an 8 – 17% mortality rate among smolts migrating through the estuary, with higher mortality rates for steelhead (O. mykiss) and coho salmon (O. kisutch). Under a potential management scenario to reduce avian predation by both species, improvements in the average annual population growth rate (λ) of salmonids ranged from 0.4% for sub-yearling Chinook to 3.1% for coho. These improvements are generally less than what is possible from altered hydropower system operation within the Columbia Basin for salmonid populations that are more severely affected by dams. For a few salmonid populations, reduced avian predation might contribute to stabilizing the population (λ = 1), but would need to be part of a broader recovery strategy to ensure population growth and recovery (λ > 1). Climate was an important factor modulating Caspian tern predation on salmonids, with greater consumption of smolts occurring in years of cooler ocean conditions and higher Columbia River flows. Climate did not contribute to variation in consumption of salmonids by cormorants, perhaps due to the larger effect of growth in the size of the cormorant colony during the study period. Due to current trends in colony size (terns: stable, cormorants: increasing) and the planned dispersal of a portion of the tern population, cormorant predation will likely be a more significant mortality factor for Columbia Basin salmonids in the future than will tern predation. A critical unknown factor remains; that is the degree to which reductions in avian predation on salmonids might be compensated for by other salmonid mortality factors. Close

• 7. [Article] Scientific Workshop to Inform the Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project

  In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Scientific Workshop to Inform the Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project Author: Institute for Natural Resources In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic and ecological resources in the area. The Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project was initiated to engage public and private sector participants in a collaborative process to explore the use of lower Columbia River maintenance dredge material to address the depletion of natural sand volumes in the nearshore environment off the South Jetty of the Columbia River. The objective of the proposed supplementation of dredged sediments is for these sediments to rebuild the offshore sands in the project area and, over the long term, better protect the South Jetty from wave impacts. This project is one of the activities of the Lower Columbia Solutions Group (LCSG). Convened by Governor Kulongoski of Oregon and former Governor Locke of Washington, the LCSG is a diverse group of local, state and federal stakeholders interested in and affected by dredge material disposal activities in the Lower Columbia River area. Stakeholders include crabbers, fishing interests, environmentalists, development interests, and local, state and federal government. The Nearshore Project group and the LCSG have requested that scientists with relevant expertise provide input about the current state of scientific understanding and research needs for topics pertinent to the Nearshore Beneficial Use Project. In response, the Institute for Natural Resources at OSU is co-hosting a Scientific Workshop to Inform the Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project. This two-day workshop is by-invitation-only. Day 1 of the workshop, which is being organized by INR, will focus on a discussion of scientific information about such topics as sediment migration, wave and current patterns, and biological communities in the project area. Day 2 of the workshop, hosted by the LCSG, will share the products from the previous day's scientific discussion--such as areas of scientific agreement, research and monitoring needed to address scientific unknowns, and key indicators for assessing impacts of a nearshore beneficial use project--with policymakers, resources practitioners, and interested stakeholders. Products and outcomes of the workshop will be used to help increase understanding about the state of knowledge and uncertainty regarding the nearshore environment and recommend effective policies and activities that will address concerns about resource protection in the area of interest. Title: Scientific Workshop to Inform the Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project Author: Institute for Natural Resources In recent years, depletion of sands in the nearshore environment along the northern Oregon and southwest Washington coasts has been documented. This erosion raises concerns about protection of economic and ecological resources in the area. The Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project was initiated to engage public and private sector participants in a collaborative process to explore the use of lower Columbia River maintenance dredge material to address the depletion of natural sand volumes in the nearshore environment off the South Jetty of the Columbia River. The objective of the proposed supplementation of dredged sediments is for these sediments to rebuild the offshore sands in the project area and, over the long term, better protect the South Jetty from wave impacts. This project is one of the activities of the Lower Columbia Solutions Group (LCSG). Convened by Governor Kulongoski of Oregon and former Governor Locke of Washington, the LCSG is a diverse group of local, state and federal stakeholders interested in and affected by dredge material disposal activities in the Lower Columbia River area. Stakeholders include crabbers, fishing interests, environmentalists, development interests, and local, state and federal government. The Nearshore Project group and the LCSG have requested that scientists with relevant expertise provide input about the current state of scientific understanding and research needs for topics pertinent to the Nearshore Beneficial Use Project. In response, the Institute for Natural Resources at OSU is co-hosting a Scientific Workshop to Inform the Columbia River Nearshore Beneficial Use Project. This two-day workshop is by-invitation-only. Day 1 of the workshop, which is being organized by INR, will focus on a discussion of scientific information about such topics as sediment migration, wave and current patterns, and biological communities in the project area. Day 2 of the workshop, hosted by the LCSG, will share the products from the previous day's scientific discussion--such as areas of scientific agreement, research and monitoring needed to address scientific unknowns, and key indicators for assessing impacts of a nearshore beneficial use project--with policymakers, resources practitioners, and interested stakeholders. Products and outcomes of the workshop will be used to help increase understanding about the state of knowledge and uncertainty regarding the nearshore environment and recommend effective policies and activities that will address concerns about resource protection in the area of interest. Close