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The Ni-les'tun restoration project at Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge is the largest tidal wetland restoration project in Oregon. Bringing back the tides to this 400 acre historic tidal wetland immediately doubles the acreage of tidal wetland in the Coquille River estuary. The project creates important habitat for young salmon and shorebirds, restoring over 5 miles of new tidal channels. The restoration includes a substantial area of shrub and forested tidal wetland ("tidal swamp") -- a habitat type that was historically prominent in the Coquille estuary but is now rare. 

Laura Brophy, Director of the Estuary Technical Group at IAE, provides tidal wetland ecology expertise as a member of the design team for the Ni-les’tun restoration project, and serves as co-lead (with Stan Van de Wetering of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians) for the project's effectiveness monitoring program. Effectiveness monitoring answers the question "did the project meet its goals?" and provides accountability for the large restoration investment at the site. The results of the monitoring program are being used to guide other Pacific Northwest tidal wetland restoration efforts. Monitoring at Ni-les'tun measures the site's biological characteristics and physical environment, including salmon use, plant communities, invertebrates, birds, tidal hydrology, groundwater, water quality, salinity, soils, and channel system development.

Additional photos can be viewed at: http://greenpoint.smugmug.com/Professional/Ni-lestun-for-IAE-website-Jan/20926907_jtgdG2

For more details, see the project blog at http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/bandonmarsh/restoration/index.cfm.