Juvenile Salmon Ecology and Ecosystem Restoration in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary

Restoring ecosystems in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) to benefit juvenile salmon is an important strategy to help recover ESA-listed species in the Columbia and Willamette river basins.  To support this strategy, research is conducted to reduce critical uncertainties concerning juvenile salmon ecology, develop application tools that support project development, and evaluate the effectiveness of restoration actions.  This symposium will focus on the uncertainties and effectiveness research relating juvenile salmon and ecosystem restoration and adaptively applied by restoration managers.  Talks will cover the main restoration action in the LCRE, reconnecting tidal and flood flows between off-channel habitats and the man stem by breaching dikes, replacing and removing tide gates and culverts, and excavating channels.  The research findings and their implications to adaptive management of the LCRE ecosystem restoration effort should be of interest and applicable to researchers, resource managers, and policy- and decision-makers from the LCRE, the Pacific Northwest, and nationwide who apply an ecological approach to habitat restoration.