The foundation for this project was laid in 2014, when Laura and former ETG staffer Michael Ewald partnered with the Oregon Coastal Management Program to produce the nation’s first statewide, elevation-based
maps of estuary habitats. Laura then worked with the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) to apply the new methods to the whole
U.S. West Coast. The resulting maps gave the ETG/PMEP team the means to produce the first comprehensive spatial data on estuarine
wetland loss for the West Coast.
In the new nationwide project, Laura and her team will use the elevation-based estuary maps, along with other historical and current data, to build a better understanding of change in our nation’s estuaries. The results will be used to inform restoration and conservation priorities at each study estuary – and to improve consistency of estuarine habitat mapping across our country’s coastlines.
Read Laura’s tidal wetland research published in the journal PLOS One.
