With NOAA funding, Trout Unlimited is opening up streams for migratory fish across coastal watersheds. Part of the greater Salmon SuperHwy restoration effort, this work is helping threatened Oregon Coast coho rebound and supporting local communities.
NOAA Fisheries supports one of the most ambitious salmon restoration projects on Oregon's coast: the Salmon SuperHwy. This partnership of more than a dozen organizations works across the Tillamook, Nestucca, and Sand Lake watersheds. It works to restore fish passage at dozens of stream barriers, such as failing road culverts and tide gates. When complete, salmon and steelhead will be able to access 180 miles of habitat that had been blocked for decades.
The benefits of the Salmon SuperHwy project and other coastal restoration work are not just theoretical. Threatened Oregon Coast coho salmon have experienced a dramatic rebound in recent years. NOAA Fisheries Oregon Coast Branch Supervisor Lance Kruzic believes that restoring rivers and streams has helped more coho survive their juvenile life stage and return as adults to spawn.
"Over the last 30 years, substantial funding has been invested in restoring freshwater habitat, and coho have been benefiting," said Kruzic. "For example, the Tillamook area—which was once one of the toughest places for coho to reach the habitat they needed—is now a bright spot for coho recovery. There's been a total flip."
Since 2021, an average of more than 150,000 Oregon Coast coho have returned annually to coastal rivers and streams. The Pacific Fishery Management Council predicts another strong year for 2026, estimating an ocean abundance of 219,000 wild coho.
Population growth has also been driven by reduced ocean harvest, changes to hatchery programs, and relatively favorable ocean conditions for coho in recent years. Coho often spend their years in the ocean closer to the coast than other salmon species, where they benefit from upwelling of cold and nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean. However, Kruzic thinks the benefits of reconnecting freshwater habitat were evident even when ocean conditions were poor due to a marine heatwave from 2015 to 2020.
"We went through the so-called 'warm-water blob'—a series of years when ocean conditions were terrible for salmon survival off the coast—and coho numbers bottomed out around 75,000," Kruzic said. "But that's much higher than the lows experienced during the late 1990s when ocean conditions were similarly poor, when numbers dropped to around 25,000 fish. To me, that difference is the clearest sign yet that freshwater habitat restoration is working to keep coho numbers much higher during poor ocean conditions."
Those coho grew up in improved streams where they could grow big and strong. More of them survived to reach the ocean. Though harsh ocean conditions killed many fish, the larger, healthier population softened the blow of poor survival.
NOAA-Funded Restoration Work
NOAA Fisheries has supported salmon habitat restoration in the region since 2015. Currently, Trout Unlimited is leading a series of projects within the Salmon SuperHwy effort to improve fish passage at 14 sites across the region with funding from the Office of Habitat Conservation. Seven projects are complete, with the remaining expected to be finished by 2027.
Together, these projects are:
- Reconnecting 37 miles of habitat for Oregon Coast coho, Chinook, and chum salmon, steelhead, cutthroat trout, and Pacific lamprey
- Reducing flooding and protecting roads by replacing failing infrastructure
- Maintaining road access for isolated communities, farms, and businesses
- Helping landowners upgrade aging culverts and tide gates on their properties
- Supporting local jobs and boosting recreational fishing opportunities
"The Salmon SuperHwy is a strategic, intensive approach to aquatic connectivity," said NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist Jennifer Jones. "These projects have restored access to spawning and rearing habitat for multiple species, while also making the county's transportation system safer for residents, visitors, and industry."
Addressing Barriers to Fish Passage
Hundreds of stream barriers throughout Oregon's coastal watersheds fragment the river networks on which salmon and steelhead depend. Culverts built at road-stream crossings become barriers to fish when they are undersized, perched high above the stream channel, or plugged with debris that prevents passage.
Tide gates—flap-style doors on culverts or channels—block coastal streams every time the tide rises to keep saltwater from reaching agricultural fields. Many older gates are now corroded and no longer function properly, simultaneously blocking fish and jeopardizing farm drainage.
The Salmon SuperHwy project removes these barriers or replaces failing structures with modern, fish-friendly designs.
"We're opening up juvenile rearing habitat so fish can get bigger, and also opening up spawning habitat so the bigger fish can find spawning gravels higher up in the watershed," said Liz Ransom, Trout Unlimited's Salmon SuperHwy director. "Having a whole stream functioning as it should improve population numbers."
Juvenile Oregon Coast coho spend more than a year in freshwater before migrating to the ocean. Removing barriers allows young fish to move freely up and down streams. They can find sheltered, slow-moving areas like side channels and floodplains where they can eat, grow, and avoid predators and the hot summer sun.
"Increasing coho juvenile rearing habitat—including quality, quantity, and diversity—is the best way to improve the resilience of Oregon Coast coho in the face of challenging ocean conditions," said Jones.
Restoration Protects Roads and Supports Local Agriculture
In addition to helping fish, the Salmon SuperHwy projects benefit people. Upgrading aging infrastructure, such as replacing poorly designed culverts with bridges, reduces the risk of flooding and road washouts.
"Old and undersized culverts can lead to flooding and catastrophic washouts," said Jones. "The county does not have the money to address all of the infrastructure projects, and so nonprofits like Trout Unlimited rely on federal funding for habitat restoration."
A recently completed Trout Unlimited project on Green Creek near Tillamook Bay demonstrates these benefits. In 2023, Trout Unlimited replaced a failing culvert under Trask River Road with a 25-foot bridge. The old culvert was only 48 inches wide and frequently clogged with debris, blocking both water flow and fish passage.
Tillamook County Public Works feared the culvert might blow the road out during heavy winter storms, but didn't have the funds to replace it. When big storms were predicted, the county stationed an excavator by the culvert in case the road washed out.
"Addressing the culvert on Green Creek was essential because hundreds of people live up Trask River Road—it's their only access in and out to that river valley," said Ransom. "There are also logging operations and farms that depend on the road."
Restoration can also help landowners improve infrastructure they might not otherwise be able to afford. In 2025, Trout Unlimited worked with a farmer to replace a failing tide gate on Esther Creek with a more advanced design.
Traditional tide gates close automatically when tides rise, blocking fish passage. The new system allows the landowner to adjust how water flows through the gate, balancing the needs of farming and fish. Working together, Trout Unlimited and the landowner developed a water management plan that improves fish passage during key migration periods while still protecting agricultural land.
"Working lands can support healthy fish and ecosystems," Ransom said. "It's about finding those win-win solutions."
Supporting Recreational Fishing and the Local Economy
More fish in the streams provides more opportunities for recreational fishing. While Oregon Coast coho are a threatened species, their population is now large enough for recreational anglers to harvest a share. In 2024, anglers took home more than 40,000 wild coho salmon from the Oregon Coast.
"It's great to have Oregon Coast coho fishing opportunities when the numbers are up," said Kruzic. "People can get out on the water, have fun catching a wild salmon, and take it home to enjoy. It keeps people connected to the resource and caring about salmon and salmon habitat restoration."
Local businesses such as tackle shops, fishing guides, and charter operators have credited the wild coho fishery with sustaining their operations. According to economic research by Travel Oregon, the outdoor recreation and tourism sector supports roughly 9,160 jobs on the North Coast. Visitors spent about $825 million there in 2022.
The restoration effort itself also boosts the local economy. The Salmon SuperHwy has invested more than $20 million in the region and created more than 340 jobs.
Nearing the Finish Line
Since 2014, the Salmon SuperHwy has completed 60 out of 93 planned projects. With 137 miles of habitat already reconnected, the partnership is now in the final stretch of its work. When complete, about 95 percent of the region's historic habitat will once again be accessible to migratory fish.
"Without NOAA, we wouldn't be 75 percent of the way done," said Ransom.
Rather than fixing barriers one at a time, the partnership used a watershed-wide analysis. They identified 93 projects that would deliver the biggest habitat gains for six species of migratory fish while maximizing conservation return on investment. The partnership estimates that if it had used a more piecemeal approach, getting the work done might have taken 70 years.
Outlook for Coho
Scientists caution that Oregon Coast coho still face major challenges, but the species' recent rebound points to the benefits of decades of restoration work.
"The positive message is around the improvements to freshwater habitat and the hard work that everybody's doing—landowners, watershed councils, counties, state agencies, and federal agencies," said Kruzic. "There's a strong coalition of folks on the Oregon coast working to improve freshwater habitat, and we're seeing the benefits. For Oregon Coast coho, the recovery has been tremendous, but we still have a ways to go. Let's not fall back, but keep all restoration efforts going strong."