Posted on August 17, 2026
By Bryce Robinson
Along U.S. Highway 101 just south of Lincoln City, 45 days of heavy construction have reshaped 37 acres of Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where excavators have carved winding tidal channels across former agricultural ground, filled old drainage ditches, removed invasive vegetation and positioned large trees and root systems throughout a reconstructed floodplain. The roughly $1.5 million project has now reached a major construction milestone as another portion of Lower Drift Creek is reconnected with tidal processes that were disrupted by generations of diking, drainage and agricultural use.
The work represents Phase II of the Lower Drift Creek tidal wetland restoration, an undertaking involving the MidCoast Watersheds Council, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous state, federal, tribal and conservation partners. Planning began in 2018, and the project was designed to restore approximately 37 acres between Highway 101 and South Drift Creek Road while improving habitat for native fish and wildlife, rebuilding increasingly rare coastal wetlands and addressing how tidal water moves through the surrounding floodplain.
Completing the excavation required considerably more than digging new waterways. Before heavy equipment could enter the wettest portions of the property, crews temporarily isolated tidal water entering through a 12-foot box culvert beneath Highway 101 and biologists removed juvenile fish from existing drainage areas. Contractors then filled straight agricultural ditches and excavated branching tidal channels based on the site’s historic hydrology. Portions of the property remained too saturated for conventional equipment, requiring a specialized floating excavator equipped with pontoons.
Large trees and root wads have also been positioned throughout the channels and floodplain to provide shelter and feeding habitat for fish and additional structure for birds and other wildlife. Some of the wood came from trees removed from Oregon State University property in South Beach, Bureau of Land Management roads and material salvaged following the 2020 Echo Mountain Fire near Otis. Rather than being discarded, the timber is becoming part of an engineered habitat intended to develop increasingly natural characteristics as vegetation returns and tidal movement redistributes sediment.
The restoration addresses changes that occurred along much of the Oregon Coast as wetlands were historically diked, drained, grazed and converted to agricultural or developed land. Those alterations eliminated or disconnected substantial portions of the tidal habitat where freshwater rivers meet the Pacific Ocean. Scrub-shrub and Sitka spruce swamp habitat experienced particularly severe losses, with project officials reporting that more than 90 percent of this habitat type has disappeared from the Oregon Coast.
Restoring those areas is important to Oregon Coast coho salmon, which remain protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, as well as Chinook salmon and other native fish. Juvenile salmon use tidal wetlands for feeding, growth and protection before entering the ocean. The reconstructed channels at Lower Drift Creek have been designed at different depths and elevations to allow water to move across the property with changing tides while reducing the likelihood that fish will become stranded as water recedes.
Higher portions of the reconstructed floodplain are intended to support shrubs and eventually trees, while lower elevations will accommodate marsh vegetation adapted to regular tidal inundation. Sitka spruce swamp and scrub-shrub habitat are among the environments restoration managers hope to reestablish, with native planting and seeding expected to continue as the project moves beyond its major excavation phase.
Wetland restoration can also influence how water behaves during storms and unusually high tides. Functioning tidal wetlands provide additional space for water to spread across a floodplain, while vegetation and soils can capture sediment, filter nutrients and pollutants and store carbon. The Lower Drift Creek design incorporates anticipated changes in sea level and includes different ground elevations intended to allow habitat to adjust as coastal conditions change.
Flooding on neighboring property was examined during federal environmental review of the project, particularly because residents near earlier restoration work had questioned whether lowering old dikes could increase water on surrounding land. Observations following the first phase indicated that tidal water moved through the restored floodplain more efficiently, entering and draining rather than remaining confined behind aging infrastructure. For a residence adjoining the current restoration area within the tidal zone, contractors constructed a protective berm and drainage system intended to direct water back toward the wetland.
The latest 37-acre project follows approximately 41 acres restored east of Drift Creek Road in 2023. During that phase, crews lowered about 3,100 feet of old perimeter dikes, excavated more than a mile of tidal channels, installed large wood structures, constructed habitat mounds and removed aging infrastructure. Native marsh and shrub vegetation has since begun returning, while rare spruce-swamp habitat has shown signs of regeneration.
Those projects add to approximately 86 acres of wetlands restored earlier within Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Federal planning documents describe the broader Lower Drift Creek undertaking as approximately 74 acres of tidal wetland restoration across three refuge tracts. Project managers estimate that approximately 80 percent of the Siletz Bay estuary will have been restored to natural tidal function following completion of the current effort, representing a substantial recovery of habitat within an estuary that experienced extensive historic alteration.
Funding for the work comes from a combination of federal, state and private grants and partner contributions rather than a single government appropriation. The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board previously approved $573,724 for Lower Drift Creek restoration work, including removal of dikes, construction of tidal channels, placement of large wood, native planting and control of invasive vegetation.
Partners involved in the larger effort include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MidCoast Watersheds Council, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, Wild Salmon Center, Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, along with contractors and other supporting organizations. Their involvement reflects the combination of fisheries management, wildlife conservation, water management and coastal planning required to restore an estuary while accounting for nearby highways, homes and other infrastructure.
Although the construction is occurring in Lincoln County, Oregon’s coastal estuaries are connected to fisheries, salmon recovery, water quality, recreation and wildlife resources extending well beyond individual coastal communities. Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge is part of the six-refuge Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which stretches along the coastline from northern Oregon toward the California border and protects habitat used by fish, migratory birds and other wildlife.
With the primary excavation work finished, restoration will continue through native planting, vegetation establishment and long-term monitoring. Winter rainfall and tidal water will begin moving through the newly constructed channels, sediment will redistribute across the floodplain and biologists will monitor how fish and vegetation respond. The success of the $1.5 million project will ultimately be measured over multiple seasons as the 37 restored acres develop from an active construction site into functioning tidal wetland habitat within the larger Siletz Bay estuary.
