Stewardship Along Westport Slough

With the start of a new year comes the start of a new stewardship effort off Marshland Road in Clatskanie, Oregon along Westport Slough, a side channel of the lower Columbia River. In late 2021, Columbia Land Trust conserved 520 acres here with funding provided by Bonneville Power Administration.

Much of the land has experienced past agricultural activity that contributed to the loss of natural habitat, and our work will focus on restoring and improving riparian forest habitat for Columbian white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus leucurus), which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The site was most recently a poplar plantation, and removing the poplar—in addition to much needed weed control—will be an intensive effort. Over the next few years, our team plans to put hundreds of thousands of new native plants in the ground.

Nearby Columbia Land Trust projects include Kerry Island, located about three river miles downstream in Westport Slough, where we completed salmon habitat restoration in 2016.

Our stewardship team is excited to start this project and we look forward to sharing our progress!