Migrating birds, fish and marine mammals stop in coastal wetlands to feed during their journeys to and from their breeding grounds. Shorebirds are particularly dependent on stopover areas such as Grays Harbor, Boundary Bay, Copper River Delta and other coastal estuaries as they travel between South America and the Arctic.

California gray whales use Grays Harbor and other estuaries as shallow-water feeding areas on their semi-annual migrations along the Pacific Coast.

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