Progress Towards a Comprehensive Approach for Habitat Restoration in the Columbia Basin: Case Study in the Grande Ronde River

Abstract

Despite immense resources directed towards habitat restoration, recovering fish populations remains a daunting and perplexing issue. In 2015, recommendations for a comprehensive approach to habitat restoration in the Columbia River basin were published in Fisheries, which included elements of landscape ecology and resilience, broad public support, governance for collaboration and integration, and capacity for learning and adaptation. Using the Grande Ronde River basin as a case study, we convened a working group consisting of local restoration practitioners, managers, and researchers involved in habitat restoration research, monitoring, and evaluation to assess progress towards meeting these recommendations. We concluded that partnerships and collaborations in governance have been formed and research using a landscape perspective has been integrated into decision making, but efforts would benefit from gaining broader public support, formalizing an adaptive management strategy, and defining objectives and indicators for biological and ecological diversity. Continued progress will require consistent policy and funding support from the broader region. We envision this self-assessment at the 5-year milestone would be helpful to other groups facing similar challenges.

A Comprehensive Review of the Impacts of Climate Change on Salmon: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Literature by Life Stage

“…Habitat restoration is a tool immediately available to managers with guidance specifically designed to increase resiliency and adaptive capacity in the face of climate change [123,388,[439][440][441]. In many watersheds, degraded, blocked, and disconnected habitats have lowered salmon carrying capacities and homogenized remaining habitat.…”

Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of multiple benefits in conservation initiatives that aim to foster climate change adaptation

“…Leveraging partnerships-early, as study participants recommended-may offer a pathway to more comprehensive monitoring programs within conservation adaptation practice, particularly as practitioners ramp up the implementation of nature-based solutions to meet adaptation and mitigation targets. Partnerships between managers and researchers from multiple local, state, federal, and tribal organizations have also been found to benefit project progress in habitat restoration (White et al, 2021). To support effective partnerships, it will likely be necessary to align motivations and reward systems early in the collaborative process (Gibbons et al, 2008), since the factors that motivate scientists (e.g., peer-reviewed publications, scientific novelty, and testing theories) are not necessarily the same as for practitioners (e.g., acres of land conserved or restored, re-establishment of healthy ecosystems, or wildlife populations).…”

Food web perspectives and methods for riverine fish conservation

“…Riverine fisheries management and conservation can benefit from the incorporation of food web perspectives, and food web investigations are increasingly identified as a critical priority for restoring depleted populations, for example, Pacific salmon in the Columbia River (Naiman et al, 2012; White et al, 2021) and Atlantic Salmon in Europe (Woodward et al, 2021). In stark contrast to approaches focused only on physical habitat, these insights suggest integrating food web perspectives is paramount to the success or failure of critical and costly management actions such as habitat restoration, invasive species removal, or climate mitigation strategies.…”