below quick Sand River the Countrey is low rich and thickly timbered on each Side of the river, the Islands open & some ponds river wide and emence numbers of fowls flying in every direction, Such as Swan, geese, Brants, Cranes, Stalks [Storks], white guls, comerants & plevers &c. also great numbers of Sea Otter in the river. . . William Clark, November 3, 1805 describing the area near Government Island

Blue Herons fly above the Columbia River Slough.
Photo courtesy of Don Baccus
   According to scientists, wetlands are very important ecosystems that are being destroyed and degraded. By the early 1990s, lack of awareness of their importance led to the loss of more than 56% of the original coastal and inland wetland acreage in the lower 48 states. The Columbia River Slough is among the 10% of wetlands under federal protection, yet like most wetlands, until recently it was viewed as worthless.