Description
Seven miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, Cox Island on Oregon's central coast is an excellent example of an estuarine saltmarsh ecosystem. This property is privately owned and managed in order to protect the sensitive species that call it home.
We appreciate your help in protecting the landscape and respecting all those who enjoy it.
About Cox Island
The lower elevations of Cox Island support marsh habitats that flood daily at high tide, while low tides reveal a maze of tidal channels, adjoined by expanses of mudflats. A natural levee on the north side of the island supports a small area of Sitka Spruce swamp, a habitat type that was once widespread on the Oregon Coast but is now rare. Seagrasses are found in the shallow waters around and within the island.
Caring For The Land
Cox Island holds a nearly pristine salt marsh that is utilized as a reference site for restoration projects along the Oregon coast and to conduct research on blue carbon—the capacity of marine environments to store carbon and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
To ensure Cox Island remains high-quality salt marsh, TNC actively controls a small patch of saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens), a highly invasive, introduced species that threatens native wetland vegetation. Researchers believe it arrived decades ago in packing material for clams, and TNC ecologists and volunteers are working to control the species and prevent it from spreading to other coastal marshlands.
