PMEP Steering and Science & Data Committee members visited five nearshore restoration sites in September when they held their annual meeting in Bellingham, Washington. The projects were led by the Northwest Straits Foundation and included the removal of hard shoreline armoring from both privately owned and public shorelines. Shown here are Lisa Kaufman, from the Northwest Stratis Foundation, and two private landowners who voluntarily removed armoring from their shoreline to restore habitat.

PMEP and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program are hosting a virtual data tools training on Tuesday, November 4 & Wednesday, November 5 from 10am-12pm PST. The training will be available for 20 participants.

The training is designed for restoration practitioners, resource managers, and researchers and will cover the use and utility of PMEP’s online spatial data and web-based mapping tools: Estuary Nearshore Habitat Viewer and Estuary Explorer. Training participants will receive background information on PMEP’s spatial data framework and learn how to navigate and answer conservation planning queries through hands-on exercises. Participants will learn how to download data from the tools and how to upload datasets to the tool for customized mapping needs. REGISTER HERE!

PMEP has awarded FY25 funds from the National Fish Habitat Partnership to Oregion State University to assess the response of fish communities of seagrass restoration in Coos Bay and Yaquina Bay, Oregon. Researchers will evaluate diversity, abundance, and performance metrics of species at restoration sites in these estuaries and compare those metrics to natural seagrass and nearshore nursery habitats to assess restoration effectiveness. This project also includes a dynamic hands on education and outreach component with local partners.

Presentations and recordings are available from our Promoting Effective Estuary Restoration May 6 virtual symposium/workshop focusing on Monitoring Guidance, Data Hubs, and Collaborative Platforms.  Check them out on the PMEP YouTube channel!

Exciting times for our Promoting Effective Estuary Restoration Project! Registeration is open for the May 6 virtual symposium/workshop focusing on Monitoring Guidance, Data Hubs, and Collaborative Platforms.  And presentations and recordings from our March 4 Symposium on Blue Carbon and Estuary Restoration are now available. Check out May 6 speaker profiles and registration link and find presentations from March 4 and earlier events on the project page HERE:

May 6, 2025

9:00AM – 12:00PM Pacific time

Register HERE!

Exploring the design, methods, and monitoring of estuary restoration along the U.S. West Coast in the context of a changing climate.

This half-day virtual symposium will bring together experts in the field of estuary restoration along the U.S. West Coast to explore tools available to restoration practitioners. Presentations and discussion will cover estuary restoration monitoring guidance, compiled data available online for planning restoration, and collaborative platforms to share information, methods, and best practices for effective estuary restoraion. Case studies from throughout the U.S. West Coast will illustrate the practical use of these tools. Participants will also be surveyed to inform development of additional online resources needed by estuary restoration practitioners. There is no cost to register.

For agendas, speaker spotlights, and more information, visit the Promoting Effective Estuary Restoration project page HERE.

March 4, 2024

9:30AM – 12:30PM Pacific time

Register HERE.

Exploring the design, methods, and monitoring of estuary restoration along the U.S. West Coast in the context of a changing climate.

This half-day virtual symposium will bring together experts in the field of estuary restoration along the U.S. West Coast to explore the integrating:

Blue Carbon and Fish Habitat Restoration

The symposium is designed to support estuary restoration practitioners and will include opportunities to share techniques, ask questions, and build a community of practice.

For agendas, speaker spotlights, and more information, visit the Promoting Effective Estuary Restoration project page HERE.

The Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) is partnering with NOAA to facilitate proposals for an informal funding opportunity in FY24 for Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership projects that support habitat conservation or restoration and engagement with the recreational fishing community. The total funding available is approximately $150,000.

We are looking for projects that focus on habitat restoration or protection for recreationally important saltwater or diadromous species AND actively engage recreational fishing partners in habitat protection or restoration. This may include, but is not limited to:

a. Direct participation of recreational anglers in habitat projects, including research,
monitoring, and on-the-ground restoration
b. Education and outreach with, by, or for anglers on habitat conservation topics
c. Hosting of an event focused on habitat and recreational fishing opportunity that
engages the recreational fishing community and partners

Sponsors must submit their proposals to PMEP by February 18, 2025 so PMEP can determine its support for the project. Then the project sponsor must submit a completed proposal to NOAA by April 18, 2025.

For the full Request for Proposals and application instructions, go HERE.

Subscribe to our newsletter to ensure you receive announcements of our future RFPs. Subscribe HERE.

Our own Stan Allen, Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission, was awarded the Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation at the 2024 American Fisheries Society meeting in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The award was established in 2019 to annually recognize efforts of individuals, groups, or projects with an outstanding, long-term record of success in research, management, policy, communications, education, or other fields that support fish habitat conservation.

Stan has had a long and distinguished career in fisheries starting with Idaho Department of Fish and Game in 1980 as a Biological Aid and working up to the Information Resource Data Manager, where he was responsible for building a consistent and verifiable river database. This work resulted in the protection of over 40,000 miles of streams in the Columbia River Basin from additional hydropower development. Stan has worked at the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission since the 1990’s and has been a Senior Program Manager for 31+ years. His work has included the development of the CalFish system to support habitat efforts for anadromous fish and development of StreamNet, a cooperative data effort that has been the foundation for the support of fish conservation in the Pacific Northwest. He has also managed countless fisheries projects, currently including 80 projects with 150-175 employees, such as the reintroduction of salmonids in California Central Valley tributaries, the Klamath River watershed rehabilitation, and Pacific Coast, in particular in California, fish passage barrier identification, removal, and mitigation. He is a long-time National Fish Habitat (NFHP) Board member and now is the Vice Chair of the Board, ensuring NFHP continues its incredible fish habitat conservation work. Stan has been an active member of PMEP committees since PMEP was initally formed as a fish habitat partnership in 2012.