Glover Estuary Enhancement

This project is located in the tidal wetlands of the Umpqua River Estuary, an area important to ESA listed species of the Oregon Coast. Tidal wetlands along the lower Smith River were converted to pastures on 135 acres of the Glover Ranch by building levees, reconfiguring stream channels to ditches and installing tidegates to control the incoming tide. The project partners are collaborating to complete fish passage, tidal channel work and livestock management needed to improve ecological conditions in the Umpqua Estuary. Two failing tidegates will be replaced and retrofitted to increase fish passage, tidal channels will be expanded and/or rebuilt, livestock management fencing and complimentary off-channel water systems will be built, low water fords will be replaced with bridges and tidal channels will be enhanced with native plantings. Muted Tide Regulators will be adjusted at each tidegate to provide 30 flooded acres at each high tide during the winter season and 15 acres during high tides occurring in the summer. Over five miles of livestock fence is proposed to be built 20’ from the channel, and native plants will be established along the tidal channels.

PCSRF FFY 2017 and PCSRF FFY 2018 funds will be expended on project costs incurred during their respective contract award periods, and PCSRF FFY 2019 and other funds will be used to complete the project. No funds are reported as match to PCSRF funds.

The Umpqua/Smith River Estuary provides salmon and steelhead with important feeding areas, refuge from predators and transition zones as they move from fresh to saltwater. However, many estuarine wetlands along the coast have been filled, cleared, diked and drained for agriculture or urban development. This project is located in the tidal wetlands of the Umpqua/Smith River Estuary near the communities of Gardiner and Reedsport in Douglas County; an area important to Oregon Coast coho, Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, Pacific lamprey and a variety of other native fish. The project work will result in the installation of muted tidegate regulators (MTR). MTRs were designed for the tidegates to be open for longer periods of time during the incoming tide, and also provides velocities inside the culvert that are passable for fish. Upstream of the new fish passage friendly tidegate will be 2.25 miles of channels, intended to provide habitat for juvenile salmon and steelhead in addition to a variety of other native estuarine fish species. With fencing to manage livestock, these areas will flourish with native plants and insects and provide abundant prey for your salmon to feast upon. Many salmonids will hold in these areas from one to three months during which they will feed, grow and adjust to salt water. Restoring these estuarine channels to health and providing an appropriate tidal flow to them via the tidegate will greatly increase juvenile salmon survival and produce well-fed healthy salmonids ready to head out to the sea.