Purpose of the project:
The Columbia-Pacific Passage habitat restoration project is part of a multi-phase effort sponsored by the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST), involving three separate tributaries to the Columbia River estuary. The three sites are located within five miles of each other on the Columbia River shoreline in southwest Washington. The sites included in this large-scale restoration effort include Fort Columbia, which was restored in 2010 as part of phase I, Megler Creek, which was restored in 2017 as part of phase II, and Hungry Harbor, which is currently being proposed for construction in 2020 as the third and final phase of the restoration strategy. Restoration is needed in this estuarine reach of the Columbia River because extensive historical alterations of the shoreline to support highway infrastructure have eliminated the majority of off-channel foraging and rearing opportunities for juvenile salmonids along this important migration corridor. Most of the nine miles along the Washington shoreline, from Knappton Cove to the town of Chinook, is heavily riprapped to protect State Route 401.

Consequently, most of the historical estuarine tributaries and floodplains that once served as an off-channel habitat for migrating and spawning salmon have been disconnected from the Columbia mainstem by a series of inappropriately sized and placed culverts. Further compounding the issue, fish presence studies conducted by NOAA on the Columbia River mainstem indicate that the primary route taken by nearly 80% of outgoing juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River system is along the Washington shoreline. Historic habitat loss and fish use data demonstrate the importance and need for reconnecting critical off-channel rearing habitat for salmon along this key migratory route to improve the survival of Endangered Species Act listed salmonids. Each phase of the project has integrated climate resilience measures into restoration design focused on addressing issues of fish passage to off-channel tidal floodplain habitats and direct tributaries to the Columbia River between river mile 8 and 14. Examples of climate-resilient measures incorporated into project designs include freeboard elevation determinations to ensure the infrastructure has the appropriate size hydraulic opening under several sea-level rise (SLR) scenarios, implementing diverse planting plans to specifically select appropriate species assemblages capable of accommodating changes in salinity and inundation, strategic removal of impounded sediment and grading of the site to ensure gradual slopes that allow plant species the opportunity to adjust alongside SLR, and restoring sediment accretion processes capable of keeping up with or slowing down the loss of shallow-water habitats in the face of SLR.

Alongside the integration of climate resilience measures into restoration project designs, the project targets limiting factors for estuary and tributary habitats for anadromous fish. Targeted limiting factors include loss of habitat connectivity, blockages to off-channel/stream habitats, loss of side-channel or side-channel habitats, altered nutrient exchange processes, availability of preferred habitat (shallow water, peripheral habitats), and macrodetrius-based food web at multiple locations. Each phase of the Columbia-Pacific Passage project seeks to remove fish barriers to improve fish access to shallow water habitat for rearing ocean type juvenile salmon, increase access to spawning habitat for adult salmonids, increase foodweb productivity, and incorporate climate resilience in the Columbia River and nearshore environment.

Human Interest/Community Benefit:
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region’s culture and economy for centuries. Pacific County is home to one of the most marine dependent communities in the nation. The local economy relies on healthy waters and intact coastal habitats that support fishing and shellfish aquaculture. Approximately 21,000 people live in Pacific County; many live in low-lying coastal regions. These low-lying coastal regions are at risk from significant flooding caused by storms, storm surges, and tsunamis. In the proposed project area, the Columbia River and its riverbank transit corridors serve as the primary route for the transportation of goods and services, including emergency services. State Highway 401 is the only major highway that connects many of the rural communities in Southwest Washington, with an Average Annual Daily Traffic load of approximately 3,000 vehicles. As populations have grown, development pressure on the associated coastal habitats has increased along the CRE shoreline and outer coast. Concurrently, the effects of climate change, sea-level rise, flooding, increasing storms, and coastal erosion cause the shoreline to retreat landward. In a shifting environment, habitat conservation and resilient infrastructure will allow coastal habitats to continue to provide their steady stream of benefits. It is important to create a vision for the shoreline that balances the needs of the community with the needs of the environment so that both can thrive. The CPP project seeks to merge critical infrastructures such as public transportation corridors with essential floodplain and wetland habitat. Past infrastructure development has significantly reduced the role that the floodplain wetlands play in mitigating the impact of disasters by disconnecting the river from its floodplain and associated wetlands. The CPP project focuses on three of the larger disconnected floodplains along SR 401 and Highway 101 and utilizes engineering solutions to promote more natural movement and connectivity between floodplains and waterways. Under several projected climate change scenarios, extreme climatic events such as floods, droughts, and storms are expected to increase in frequency and intensity. Natural infrastructure, including floodplains and wetlands, can help provide communities with resilience to these natural hazards. Well managed ecosystems can reduce the impact of many natural hazards, such as flooding, landslides, and storm surges. Investments in preventative measures, including investments in maintaining and restoring healthy ecosystems, are effective at reducing costs incurred by disasters. Not only will the CPP project help buffer against potential future hazards, but it will also replace failing infrastructure along a major public transportation corridor equipped with buried 911 communication lines with seismically stable infrastructure built to the current Washington State Department of Transportation standards.

The CPP project provides multiple benefits, as it not only provides ecosystem and species-specific benefits, it also corrects engineering deficiencies that have led to unsafe road conditions. The current placement of the Hungry Harbor culvert is in an unsuitable location to safely pass the flow of the two unnamed tributaries. With the current placement, the creeks are slowly eroding the toe of the road prism. Without intervention, road failure at the Hungry Harbor site is inevitable. The highway corridor within the CPP project area hosts a public rest area, a national park, a state park, in addition to private residences. Roadway failures can be catastrophic as highways collapse without warning in high volume traffic areas. The project will upgrade a neglected section of roadway with resilient and safer infrastructure, improve floodplain connectivity and conveyance, and help serve Southwest Washington communities that rely on this stretch of highway in their day to day lives.

Project Timeline:
Columbia-Pacific Passage Habitat Restoration at Megler Creek was completed in February 2017. Project design began in 2014 and was completed in 2015. Project construction began in October 2016 and was completed in February 2017. Economic impact models track the expenditures made in local communities and estimate the local economic activity generated as a result of those expenditures. An investment of $1,001,215.00 in the Columbia-Pacific Passage Habitat Restoration at Megler Creek Project in Southwest Washington would support 16 jobs in Washington and generate $1,690,824.66 in total sales, $1,057,425.09 in value-added and $755,546.88 in incomes for this local community. A job in IMPLAN (a commercially available economic impact software) is equal to the annual average of monthly jobs in this sector. Total sales are defined as the total value of industry production. Value added is equivalent to that activity’s contribution to gross domestic product.

Partners:
Pacific Marine Estuarine Partnership
National Park Service
Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board
Salmon Recovery Funding Board