Siletz Bay NWR: Tidal Marsh Restoration and Reference Sites: Baseline Plant Community (Vegetation) Monitoring and Mapping - Geospatial Data, 2001

This reference contains geospatial datasets (shapefiles) for the Siletz Bay NWR: Tidal Marsh Restoration and Reference Sites: Baseline Plant Community Monitoring and Mapping inventory performed by Green Point Consulting in 2001.
During summer 2001, Green Point Consulting (GPC) conducted baseline monitoring and computerized (GIS) mapping of emergent wetland plant communities at USFWS tidal marsh restoration sites and matched reference sites in the Siletz and Nestucca estuaries. The monitoring work used a robust, quantitative protocol which allows comparison of results to tidal marsh monitoring activities elsewhere on the west coast. Plant community composition was measured, and results were used to map plant communities throughout the restoration and reference sites.
The goals of the project were to assist USFWS in restoration planning, implementation, evaluation, and adaptive management; and to advance scientific understanding of west coast estuaries. Plant community classification and mapping also provides the basis for stratification of further sampling in future monitoring projects. This project's vegetation analysis and mapping modifies and adds detail to the estuary-wide mapping of Siletz tidal marsh completed by GPC for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in 2001. Products include GIS layers of plant communities and sampling locations; paper maps of plant communities; graphic displays of plant community composition; photodocumentation of transects; spreadsheets of quantitative data collected and analysis of that data; and this narrative report. This project was not designed to provide data for regulatory requirements (such as wetland fill-removal permits), but it's results may be useful as supplementary data in a regulatory context.