The restoration improvements at the Esther Creek Tide Gate and Wetland Restoration project will provide flood resiliency in the interior of the site by improving drainage of flood waters during low tide swings via removal of a tide gate and man-made berms and improved connectivity of existing and new channel networks.

Esther Creek is a small tributary providing approximately 2.5 linear miles of stream habitat suitable for migratory fish use. It drains an area of just over 1.28 square miles. Esther Creek’s headwaters are in private timber lands and flow into agricultural lands. The tide gate is located just past the confluence of Esther and Tomlinson Creek on a privately owned earthen dike structure at Esther Creek stream mile 0.2. After passing through the tide gate, Esther Creek continues to flow under Highway 131 and empties into the Tillamook River near the entrance to Tillamook Bay. Esther Creek tide gate is part of a privately owned dike creating pastureland for the landowner. A new tide gate at this site will increase fish passage, provide natural water inundation, flood protection, and prevent a failure of the old deteriorated culvert.