Ducks Unlimited and partners recently completed the restoration of 1,600 acres of wetlands on Smith Bybee Lakes, located in Portland at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. This wetland complex is owned and managed by Metro Parks and Greenspaces, and is proclaimed to be the largest protected urban wetland in the United States. The primary objective of this project was to restore as much of the natural hydrology to the site as possible with the understanding that during some parts of the year water would need to be physically retained in the wetlands. Restoration involved removing a dam and tide-gate, and replacing it with a large water control structure that captures tidal waters, allows for water management, and provides fish passage into the lakes. The previous structure had converted the wetlands into one two permanent lake s , and did not provide any management options.