Posted on behalf of Alyssa Purslow

Hi Everyone,

Alyssa here with some updates on what I’ve been working on this summer. It’s been a busy time as I completed my Professional Science Master’s degree and successfully defended my research with Tillamook Estuaries Partnership and Oregon Sea Grant.

My report, A Retrospective Impact Analysis: Coastal Restoration in Tillamook, Oregon, focused on three key research questions:

1. How does the long-term effectiveness and monitoring of restoration efforts highlight the need for continued funding, especially in climate-vulnerable, ecologically important, and economically productive areas like Tillamook County?
2. How can we assess whether restoration funding was used effectively, and what evidence supports ongoing investment in these projects?
3. Where is the funding sourced, and how is it being used to benefit Oregon’s economy and job prospects in Tillamook County?

The need for restoration in this region is largely due to factors such as drained and diked wetlands, river levees in floodplains, the Tillamook Burn and subsequent fires, intensive logging, and the impacts of natural resource industries like dairy, forestry, fishing, and tourism. Public infrastructure development and the removal of in-stream large wood debris for navigation have also contributed to these challenges.

Some of the observed effects in the area include sea level rise, ocean acidification, water pollution, significant flooding, erosion, landslides, habitat fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, invasive species, and depleted fish stocks.

To address these issues, I developed a set of field metrics to capture key observations, and I matched historical and current photopoints to show the long-term effects of restoration—one of my favorites being a 1942 photo from Mapes Creek with a bridge to culvert to bridge infrastructure change over an 82 year span.

Additionally, I conducted a funding analysis for each site, including details on project type, partners and collaborators, cash and in-kind contributions, jobs created, and overall economic output. I have an example below of the Cruiser Creek funding analysis. Direct effects refer to jobs and outputs from restoration project implementation, indirect effects involve economic contributions from materials and services used in the projects, and induced effects capture the broader economic impact as workers spend their earnings on goods and services in the local economy.

In total, the combine efforts across the 11 sites resulted in 53 jobs created and an economic output of $7.8 million, with more than 17 miles of previously inaccessible habitat reopened for spawning and rearing. For every $1 spent, TEP leveraged $2.24—demonstrating a strong return on investment. These projects successfully met the objectives of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), and National Ocean Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), contributing to salmon recovery and habitat enhancement.

The purpose of this study was to support marketing, community awareness, and legislative communication, while providing metrics and templates for local projects. It also aimed to show the success of the National Estuary Program (NEP), continue funding efforts, and support science communication and community education through organizations like Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, Oregon Sea Grant, and the EPA.

Thanks for following along, and I’ll keep you posted on future developments!