South Slough Reserve is a 5,900-acre protected area located on the South Slough inlet of the Coos Estuary in Charleston, near Coos Bay. The reserve is managed in partnership with the Department of State Lands and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The reserve’s mission is to improve the understanding and management of estuaries and coastal watersheds in the Pacific Northwest. South Slough Reserve was the first of 29 estuarine reserves nationwide and is the only program of its kind in Oregon.

The reserve has two core areas of service: education and science. Education staff provide classes and training for a wide variety of Oregonians, including schoolchildren, science teachers, local decision-makers and professionals involved in managing estuaries and coastal watersheds. The reserve’s interpretive center offers informative 

displays and a system of hiking and water trails. Scientists provide research data for national and regional organizations.

The reserve is guided by an eight-member, governor-appointed management commission chaired by the director of DSL. There 17 full-time staff who hosts numerous student researchers and interns on an annual basis. The Friends of South Slough, an all-volunteer nonprofit group, assists the reserve with educational and research activities and obtains grants and other funding to promote and support the reserve’s programs.​