The lower Columbia River and estuary is one of 28 water bodies in the nation designated an “Estuary of National Significance.

The Estuary Partnership Goals Are:

• Protect the ecosystem and species-restoring 16,000 acres of wetlands and habitat by 2010 and promoting improvements in stormwater management.

• Reduce toxic and conventional pollution-conducting long term monitoring and advocating to eliminate persistent bioaccumulative toxics, bring water bodies up to water quality standards, reduce hydrocarbon and heavy metal discharges and reduce bacterial contamination.

• Provide information about the river to a range of audiences-compiling and evaluating data, offering education programs for children and building public and private partners.

The National Estuary Program was authorized in the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act and is administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Its purpose is to protect nationally significant estuaries that have been degraded by human activity. The Estuary Partnership does this by bringing together diverse parties to identify problems, defining a course of actions to address problems, and working collaboratively to implement actions through a regional framework.

The Estuary Partnership is a 501(C)(3) non- profit corporation. Our Board of Directors includes members from Oregon and Washington and represents diverse interests and geography.