Up close, personal and paddling - that's the way 17 ecologists, engineers, cleanup specialists, watershed managers and scientists learned about the Lower Columbia Slough's 9 miles on September 7th.  City, Port and staff from other agencies working to recover and restore the waterway covered every inch of the Slough from NE 18TH street to Kelley Point Park. "Everything has an ecological niche... I was glad to see both incised waterway and mudflats," said one paddler. "This is a jewel next to heavy industry," said another.