Estuary Partnership - Columbia River Estuary Data Development Program (CREDDP)

Columbia River Estuary Data Development Program - CREDDP

The Columbia River Estuary Data Development Program was developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s for two primary purposes: to increase understanding of the ecology of the Columbia River Estuary, and to provide information useful in making land and water use decisions. The Columbia River Estuary Study Task Force (CREST – a regional Council of Governments) oversaw completion of the studies.

Recently, the Estuary Partnership and CREST joined forces to scan in these historical reports and make them available to the public. Below are PDF files of each report. Some files are large and make time to download.

CREDDP Publications

Abstracts of Major CREDDP Publications. Includes abstracts of all the CREDDP publications plus the two program atlases and an annotated bibliography of related materials. A history of the administration of CREDDP is appended. Approximately 75 pages. Report (3.3 Mb)

Atlas of Physical and Biological Characteristics of the Columbia River Estuary. Contains maps and associated text depicting the estuary's physical characteristics, primary producers, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals, and habitat types. Report (49 Mb)

Avifauna of the Columbia River Estuary, Charles R. Hazel. Covers spatial and temporal distribution and abundance; assemblages and biomass per habitat type; food requirements and prey composition for ten key species; seasonal correlations between distribution of Avifauna and prey species. Approximately 125 pages. Report (3.7 Mb)

Bathymetric Atlas of the Columbia River Estuary A collection of maps from hydrographic studies. Bathymetric and bathymetric differencing maps give an overview of sediment accretion and erosion patterns in the estuary from 1868 to 1982. Approximately 18 pages. Report (14.4 Mb)

Benthic Infauna of the Columbia River Estuary, Robert L. Holton. Covers vertical distribution of Infauna; areal distribution and structure of infaunal communities and biomass; community dynamics on a Baker Bay mudflat; life history patterns of Corophium salmonis. Approximately 250 pages. Report (7.5 Mb)

Benthic Primary Production in the Columbia River Estuary. Covers taxonomic structure of benthic diatom flora; seasonal patterns in biomass and productivity; relationships among biological variables and between biological and physical variables; annual production per region.Approximately 150 pages. Report (4.9 Mb)

Changes in Columbia River Estuary Habitat Types Over the Past Century (1983) Compares information on the Columbia River Estuary habitats from a time predating most human impacts with corresponding recent information. Report (4 Mb)

Circulatory Processes in the Columbia River Estuary, David Jay. Covers tidal circulation, density distribution, vertical mixing, salt transport, and low-frequency flow processes, with contributions to estuarine circulation theory. Approximately 250 pages. Report (7.3 Mb)

The Dynamics of the Columbia River Estuarine Ecosystem: Volume I and Volume II, CREDDP. Integrates results from the CREDDP studies into a comprehensive synthesis. Includes physical setting and processes; relationships between physical and biological processes and among functional groups of organisms; species, biomass and productivity per habitat type per region. Approximately 360 pages per volume. Volume 1. (11.5 Mb) Volume 2. (11.6 Mb)

Epibenthic Organisms of the Columbia River Estuary, Charles A. Simenstad. Covers taxonomic composition, density, standing crop, assemblage structure, food web linkages of Epibenthic invertebrates; discusses temporal, regional, and tidal-elevational variations. Approximately 130 pages. Report (3.4 Mb)

Fishes of the Columbia River Estuary, Daniel L. Bottom, Kim K. Jones, Margaret J. Herring. Interprets fish data collected by CREDDP and other research; distribution and abundance of important species; classification of species assemblages; food requirements of important species; relationships among species and physical and biological factors. Approximately 155 pages. Report (4.3 Mb)

Guide to the Use of CREDDP Information for Environmental Assessments, Willa Nehlsen, Georgianna Blomberg, & Stewart Bell. This guide is intended to help non-scientists use CREDDP information for environmental assessments related to the planning and permit processes. Approximately 150 pages. Report (3.7 Mb)

Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Columbia River Estuary, Peter Hamilton. Presents results, including historical applications, of two circulation models; the two-dimensional vertically-integrated model, resulting in maps of current vectors, and a multi-channel laterally-averaged model producing profiles of currents, and salinity as functions of time, depth and channel position. Approximately 365 pages. Report (8 Mb)

Index to CREDDP Data, CREDDP. Describes approximately 25 data sets developed by CREDDP contractors. All but three are computer-archived. Documents fields and codes; includes information on sampling, processing and quality control. Approximately 100 pages. Report (3.2 Mb)

Key Mammals of the Columbia River Estuary, Jack Howerton. Covers distribution, habitat use, density, biomass, diet, consumption rates and potential limiting factors for eight key mammal species. Approximately 175 pages. Report (5.3 Mb)

Marine Mammals of the Columbia River Estuary, Steven Jeffries. Deals with harbor seals, California and northern sea lions; covers seasonal distribution and abundance patterns, feeding habits, standing crop. Approximately 85 pages. Report (2.7 Mb)

Sedimentary Processes and Environments in the Columbia River Estuary. Covers distribution of sediments and sedimentary environments; bedload vs. suspended transport; relationships among flow, transport, deposition and erosion; factors affecting the turbidity maximum; fluvial vs. marine influences. Approximately 335 pages. Report (11.5 Mb)

Tidal Marsh Plant Production in the Columbia River Estuary, Keith MacDonald. Presents an analysis of the taxonomic structure of tidal marsh communities; annual production of representative communities; relationships between communities and production and physical variables. Approximately 185 pages. Report (4.7 Mb)

Water Column Primary Production in the Columbia River Estuary, Lawrence F. Small & Bruce E. Frey. Covers horizontal and vertical distribution of phytoplankton; seasonal changes; productivity; controlling environmental factors; grazing; imports from river and exports to ocean; ratio of phytoplankton to detritus; effects of Mt. St. Helens eruption. Approximately 150 pages. Report (4.1 Mb)

Zooplankton and Larval Fishes of the Columbia River Estuary, Keith K. Jones & Daniel L. Bottom. Deals with taxonomic structure of zooplankton and larval fish communities; spatial and seasonal variations in density and relationships to physical factors; life history and productivity of Eurytemora affinis. Approximately 60 pages. Report (2 Mb)