Habitat Restoration Prioritization Framework

With input from many partners and interested parties, the Estuary Partnership has developed a Strategic Habitat Restoration Prioritization Framework. The Framework identifies the most ecologically beneficial locations for restoration and describes the most appropriate types of restoration strategies for those locations. Projects will also be prioritized based on which provide the greatest benefit to the lower Columbia River and its resources. (View the Report)

Ideally, determining the best restoration sites should be driven solely by ecological benefit. However, restoration is inevitably driven at least partially by opportunity – a cooperative landowner and funding need to be available. Placing potential projects through a scientifically rigorous framework though allows decisions to be made on what projects to push for within the context of opportunity. Taken together, projects selected through this framework will provide greater ecological benefit compared to projects implemented in a simple ad hoc manner.

The Strategic Prioritization for Habitat Restoration in the Columbia River Estuary is based on the following assumptions:

• Alteration of shallow water tidal and adjacent habitats results in degradation of estuarine ecological functions
• Degradation of ecological functions is caused by alteration of one or more key factors that control the development and maintenance of estuarine habitats
• Restoration of habitats and their associated functions depends on reducing, preventing, or eliminating impacts to these controlling factors.

Successful habitat restoration is contingent on the maintenance or restoration of landscape processes that form and maintain habitats. While highly objective decisions will still need to be made without complete information, the habitat prioritization process will be based on interpreting the best available information, and using monitoring and adaptive management to spearhead future prioritization improvements.

Project Selection Process
During the last three years, the Estuary Partnership has secured a significant amount of funding for lower Columbia River habitat restoration projects. Generally, soon after funding is secured, the Estuary Partnership will release a request for proposals (RFP) for habitat restoration projects within the lower Columbia River and estuary. While the specific details of the RFP may change slightly depending on the funding source, generally the project selection elements and process remain the same.

All projects are ranked within a competitive review process by Estuary Partnership staff and the Estuary Partnership’s Science Workgroup. Staff and workgroup members review proposals and rank them based on the Estuary Partnership’s selection criteria and any criteria required by the funding agency. Once selected, project sponsors work with Estuary Partnership staff to align project budgets, timelines, and permitting requirements. The Habitat Restoration and Monitoring Coordinators then work with project sponsors to align the implementation phase with regional planning efforts.

Habitat Restoration Criteria
The Estuary Partnership’s habitat restoration criteria include ecosystem, implementation and monitoring criteria. In 2009, the criteria were slightly modified to recognize the priorities of different funding sources, and weighted, to make them more relevant to the project review process. In 2010, guidance questions were added to the criteria to add more clearly link them to the Habitat Restoration Program RFP

Below are critieria titles. Click “Criteria for Identifying and Prioritizing Habitat Protection and Restoration Projects on the Lower Columbia River and Estuary." to view the full criteria document.

Ecosystem Criteria:
Habitat Connectivity
Areas of Historic Habitat Type Loss
Improvement in Ecosystem Function
Adequate Size and Shape
Level of Complexity
Accessibility for Target Species

Implementation Criteria:
Use Natural Processes to Restore and Maintain Structure over Habitat Creation
Community Support and Participation
Potential for Self Maintenance and Certainty of Success
Potential for Improvement in Ecosystem Function While Avoiding Impacts to Functioning Ecosystems
Avoid Sites Where Irreversible Change Has Occurred
Capacity of Sponsor/Partnership
Project Context Within Broader Management and Planning Objectives

Monitoring Criteria:
Monitoring and Evaluation with Relationship to State Goals and Objectives
Linkages to Reference Sites
Transferability of Results