State of the Knowledge of U.S. West Coast Nearshore Habitat Use by Fish Assemblages and Select Invertebrates Available Now!

PMEP is delighted to announce that the State of the Knowledge of U.S. West Coast Nearshore Habitat Use by Fish Assemblages and Select Invertebrates report and data products are now available!

PMEP has compiled standardized spatial data on nearshore habitats within defined nearshore zones to reflect what we know about nearshore habitat classification and extent along the entire U.S. West Coast. PMEP developed the Nearshore Project with three main objectives:

  1. Define and map boundaries for delineating nearshore zones along the U.S. West Coast.
  2. Compile and standardize spatial data on nearshore habitats within defined nearshore zones.
  3. Produce a state-of-the-knowledge report on U.S. West Coast nearshore fish and invertebrate habitats.

Nearshore areas are delineated by PMEP ecoregions, which include the Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, Central California, and Southern California Bight. Each ecoregion section describes the habitats by nearshore zones, fish assemblages, and invertebrate use. Nearshore habitat data from multiple sources was standardized using the Coastal Marine Ecological Classification System (CMECS).

The report and data products provide a baseline for investigating changes, shifts, and adaptations of habitats for nearshore marine species along the entire U.S. West Coast. The geodatabase includes feature classes of nearshore zones and biotic and substrate habitat layers, and the data products are designed for use by resource managers, restoration practitioners, and researchers.

Please check it out!

Photo credit: A. Obaza, Paua Marine Research Group

PMEP Funded Projects 2022

PMEP is pleased to announce the award of over $230,000 to the following five fish habitat restoration projects for 2022.

  • Sequalitchew Creek Estuary Restoration Design Alternatives
  • Polnell Point Armor Removal and Restoration
  • Aiston Preserve Nearshore Restoration
  • Eelgrass restoration in Washington & Oregon
  • Zangle Cove Restoration

These projects represent important conservation priorities of PMEP, restoring eelgrass, nearshore sediment transport processes, and habitat connectivity. The projects were evaluated by a PMEP review panel and the PMEP Steering Committee and the board of the National Fish Habitat Partnership against PMEP and national conservation priorities. Funding comes from the National Fish Habitat Partnership and will be managed through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more detailed descriptions of the funded projects check out our funded projects page, or take a look at our interactive story map.

Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has supported over 1,000 projects benefiting fish habitats in all 50 states. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitats nationwide; leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships.

Make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter to keep up to date with future funding opportunity announcements!

PMEP Estuary Explorer and Estuary Viewer Data Tools Training

PMEP and the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR) are teaming up again to host the second training session for the PMEP Estuary Viewer and Estuary Explorer online mapping tools on April 5th and 6th. This training will be held from 10 am to 12 pm over two days, with a $10 registration fee. Participants must be able to attend both days.

In the training, you will learn how to use tools that have been developed for scientists and managers to provide easy access to compiled geographic and biophysical information on estuaries and coastal fish habitats of California, Oregon, and Washington.

By the end of the four-hour training, participants will be able to explore and filter estuary data on regional and local scales for conservation and restoration planning and management purposes, learn how to effectively use the compiled data in both tools and how to download available datasets, upload personal data sets, or data from outside of PMEP, and customize their queries and data overlays.

For more information and to sign up, click here!