Mitigation and restoration planning identify shoreland sites that can be added to the estuary to increase estuarine values or offset effects of new development. The number and type of mitigation sites designated in plans must generally correspond to areas designated for development in the plan which would require mitigation. Mitigation and restoration involve the same types of activities but are done for slightly different reasons. Both involve actions which either restore an area to the estuary, create a new estuarine area, or enhance an existing estuarine area. However, mitigation is done to compensate for damage done by new development, while restoration is done to offset historical losses and reestablish past values.
Mitigation is required whenever intertidal dredge or fill is permitted.
The type and amount of mitigation generally must replace the habitats and values lost at the development site. There is no specific Goal requirement to carry out restoration. Consequently, restoration projects are usually undertaken by resource or land management agencies to provide for overall enhancement of estuarine values. Several restoration projects have been undertaken in the Salmon River Estuary by the US Forest Service. In Oregon, mitigation only includes compensating for unavoidable losses through habitat creation, restoration, or enhancement.