Restoring Habitat for Fish and Wildlife Injured by Contamination in the Portland Harbor Superfund Site

Habitat restoration in Portland Harbor is underway. This presentation will provide an overview of habitat restoration planning efforts led by NOAA and the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council. The Trustee Council is made up of representatives from 5 Tribes and several state and federal agencies. Together these entities developed an ecological restoration plan to restore habitat for natural resources impacted by contamination from the Portland Harbor Superfund Site. The 11 mile stretch of the Willamette River that brings these entities together is listed as a Superfund Site due to high levels of multiple harmful pollutants. This same stretch of the river provides vital habitat to fish and wildlife of special significance to the Tribes and the public, including several runs of endangered salmon and steelhead, Pacific lamprey, mink, bald eagle, and many more. To restore habitat for these fish and wildlife, projects (also called restoration banks) were constructed by private companies that intend to sell credits from the projects. This presentation will serve as an introduction to the Alder Creek, Linnton Mill, PGE Harborton, and Rinearson Natural Area restoration projects. Presentations on three of these projects will be provided by the project managers, focusing on their specific restoration projects, lessons learned, and monitoring results. Combined, these 4 constructed restoration projects have restored 165 acres of habitat in a heavily urban and industrial stretch of the mainstem of the Willamette River. UERC reviewers: Please note this abstract accompanies 3 other abstracts to form a session on Portland Harbor restoratio