Shorebirds, waterfowl, clams, shrimp, and fish are some of the many animals that live in the Yaquina estuary.

The Yaquina Estuary and Its Inhabitants (click here)

August 21, 2019
By Erin Ross

The Yaquina Estuary is one of the only places on the Oregon coast where native oysters can thrive.

Most of the West Coast’s estuary habitat has vanished, (click here) according to a new study, the most thorough of its kind. The mapping project found that, today, less than 15% of historic estuaries remain along the Washington, Oregon and California coastlines.

Estuaries form where fresh water from rivers and streams meets the salt water of the ocean. They take the form of salt marshes, tidal forests, beaches and steep river mouths. They are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems on Earth. Estuaries are also among the most endangered habitats on the planet. The study found that, at one point, salt marshes covered roughly 2,800 square miles of the West Coast. That’s an area larger than the state of Delaware. But today, that number has been reduced by more than 85%. Other research indicates rising seas caused by climate change could soon drown much of the little estuary habitat that remains.

Laura Brophy, an estuary ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology in Corvallis, Oregon, is one of the study’s authors. She said humans are responsible for the disappearing ecosystem.

“When Europeans arrived in this area they began doing the alterations that have caused the loss of the wetlands,” Brophy said....