Oregon crews restore 9-acre marsh after nearly a century cut off from tides

Nearly a century after roads and dikes cut off the natural flow of tides into an Oregon marsh, restoration crews are trying to bring the tides back. North of Wheeler, the McCoy Marsh project will re-link nine acres of wetland to the Nehalem River and nearby Botts Marsh, restoring habitat conservationists say is vital to young salmon and more than 125 species of birds. The work is a major step toward reestablishing natural estuary processes in the Nehalem watershed, where the loss of tidal wetlands has added pressure on salmon populations, states an online report by Tillamook Countu Pioneer. The report highlights that the McCoy Marsh was part of a larger wetland complex. As time passed, construction and land-use changes isolated the property from the tides. Now, crews will cut into perimeter dikes in three places, digging 1,465 feet of new tidal channels across the nine-acre marsh.