Bird Research Northwest (formerly Columbia Bird Research) is an ongoing research program investigating the ecology of piscivorous colonial waterbirds (primarily, Caspian terns, double-crested cormorants, American white pelicans, and several gull species) and their impacts on the survival of juvenile salmonids in the Columbia Basin and elsewhere along the Pacific Coast. Bird Research Northwest also monitors and evaluates the management initiatives that have been implemented as part of the Caspian Tern Management Plan for the Columbia River Estuary and the Inland Avian Predation Management Plan Environmental Assessment. The Bird Research Northwest web site presents data on the size, distribution, status, productivity, diet composition, smolt consumption, and factors limiting the size and productivity of various piscivorous waterbird colonies located in Oregon, Washington, and California. Management initiatives that have been implemented or are under consideration by resource management agencies seek to reduce the impacts of avian predation on ESA-listed salmonids, while ensuring the conservation of piscivorous waterbirds in the Pacific Coast region of North America.
This research project is a joint, collaborative project between Oregon State University, Real Time Research Inc., and the USGS-Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Support for this research project is or has come from the Bonneville Power Administration; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Walla Walla District; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Portland District; Grant County Public Utility District; the Bureau of Reclamation; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Pacific Region, Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs; NOAA Fisheries; the Northwest Power and Conservation Council; and the Priest Rapids Coordinating Committe. Cooperators on this project include:
- Audubon Society of Portland
- Big Sur Ornithology Lab
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Bureau of Reclamation
- California Department of Fish and Game
- California Maritime Academy
- Cargill Salt Company
- Chelan County Public Utility District
- Clallam County Parks
- Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University
- Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
- Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
- East Bay Regional Park District
- Fern Ridge Wildlife Area, ODFW
- Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, USGS
- Grant County Public Utility District
- Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge
- Humboldt State University
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
- Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
- Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- Marine Science Institute
- McNary National Wildlife Refuge
- National Park Service
- NOAA Fisheries
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Oregon Division of State Lands
- Oregon Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
- Point Reyes Bird Observatory Conservation Science
- Potholes Game Reserve
- San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
- San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, USGS
- San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
- Seabird Restoration Program, National Audubon Society
- Summer Lake Wildlife Area, ODFW
- Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- University of California, Davis
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi State
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex
- Willamette University
Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the helping hand provided by our project staff, whose hard work in the field, lab, and office has made this web site possible.
