TEP Awarded $10,000 for Tillamook River Wetlands Project
Posted on Jul. 16th, 2019
A $10,000 grant awarded in June (2019) by the Gregory S. Cermak and Melody L. Oakley Fund for Disabilities, Education and the Environment moves Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP) closer to restoring 70 acres of tidal wetlands within the Tillamook Bay Estuary.
TEP is in Phase 1 of the Tillamook River Wetlands project, working closely with engineering firm OTAK to develop a feasibility analysis, modeling, and evaluation of restoration alternatives. OTAK is nearing completion of it's baseline site characterization and has begun modelling to assess future tidal inundation scenarios and evaluate project design alternatives. Acquisition of the property is anticipated this Fall, with the ultimate goal of restoring the degraded tidal wetland habitat. Representing the third largest tidal wetland recovery effort of its kind in Tillamook, the project will benefit 17 federal and/or state species of concern, including federally threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon. This project is being conducted in partnership with the North Coast Land Conservancy and Tillamook County Public Works Department.
The Gregory S. Cermak and Melody L. Oakley Fund is a charitable fund of the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington. Additional funding has been received to advance Phase 1's conceptual design to full design from NOAA's Coastal Resiliency Program and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.