John Day River Marsh

Type of Project: Habitat Reserve

Nestled in a bend of the John Day River, this Sitka spruce-willow-sedge wetland is braided with tidal channels and is connected hydrologically to our nearby Wolf Bay Habitat Reserve on the Columbia. To get there, put in at John Day County Park and paddle upstream on a rising tide; return on the ebb.

Nestled in a bend of the John Day River, this forested wetland is braided with tidal channels and is within the saltwater wedge of the tidal salt prism of the Pacific. This property and the nearby Wolf Bay ultimately connect to the Columbia River estuary. John Day River Marsh is a Sitka spruce forested wetland. There is also a large population of willow with sedge meadow understory. Connected to John Day and Columbia Rivers brackish water drainage, the tideland spruce do well in these systems acting as a carbon sink for carbon dioxide uptake.