New U.S. WHSRN Site: Columbia River Estuary 
The WHSRN Hemispheric Council has unanimously approved the designation of the Columbia River Estuary as a Site of Regional Importance. This site in the Northwest Pacific region of the United States begins at the mouth of the Columbia River, between the states of Washington and Oregon, and continues 60 river-miles inland. Its total land area is 10,600 hectares (26,160 acres). The estuary supports more than 20,000 shorebirds annually, including 3.7% of the pacifica subspecies of Dunlin (Calidris alpina).
Land-owning site partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-National Wildlife Refuge System (Julia Butler Hansen and Lewis and Clark NWRs), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife-Coastal Office, Washington Department of Parks and Recreation, Columbia Land Trust, Hancock Forest Management, and The Nature Conservancy of Oregon. Additional support for this site’s designation came from the USFWS-Office of Migratory Birds and Habitat Programs, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Pacific Coast Joint Venture. We sincerely welcome the Columbia River Estuary as WHSRN’s 77th Site, and congratulate all who made this designation possible!
