Upper Nehalem Watershed Council
$35,920  Coast Range Ecoregion  Addresses drought

This request is for stop-gap funding that would provide for two years (2024, 2025) of data collection while partners seek additional funding to complete the remaining 3-years (2026, 2027, 2028) of this 10-year study. The application will build on 5-years of initial monitoring efforts and will provide long-term data important to understanding the physical and biological outcomes of using beaver dam analogues (BDAs) as a natural-process restoration tool in coastal watersheds. This restoration project increases ecosystem resilience by increasing floodplain connectivity and ponded areas in the headwaters of the Nehalem River and is increasing our collective understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of using BDAs to increase aquatic resilience and ponded freshwater habitat on the landscape in the face of climate change impacts. This project is also an opportunity to increase outdoor equity by providing open and targeted invites to guided tours to share what we learn.