The Tillamook Bay Watershed Council is a locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory citizen group working to improve the condition of the surrounding watershed. The council provides local citizens a forum for influencing watershed management decisions and a funding agency to complete restoration activities such as invasive species control, riparian plantings, culvert replacements, and fish habitat structure installation. The Tillamook Bay Watershed Council works with diverse community stakeholders to ensure a healthy and sustainable watershed.
Council efforts include:
Stewardship
Education and Outreach
Community Partnerships
Project Implementation
Research and Monitoring
Please join us! The Tillamook Bay Watershed Council meets at 6:30 pm on the last Tuesday of every month at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife building at 4907 East Third Street in Tillamook, Oregon. The public is invited to attend and learn more about the Tillamook Bay Watershed and the council’s activities. Educational presentations and volunteer opportunities for 2008 are listed in the Calendar section.
Volunteer!
The Tillamook Bay Watershed Council is always seeking volunteers for the office and in the field to work on projects such as our annual Down by the Riverside or Tillamook Bay Cleanup events. We work with Boy Scout groups to develop Eagle Scout projects and science students interested in learning more about watershed issues. The council is also interested in working with private property owners interested in participating in watershed restoration on their property.
For more information on how to get involved with the council, please contact the council director at 503-322-0002.
Be a Steward of the Tillamook Bay Watershed! A steward is someone who is entrusted with the preservation and protection of a natural area over a long period of time. We are all stewards of the land, air, and water around us. In a watershed, stewardship involves being sensitive to the fact that we share a common body of water that is impacted by our individual decisions on the land. By living responsibly and being aware of the impact we have on our environment, we can improve and protect the natural wonders around us.
Ten Things You Can Do to Help
1.Go native! Plant native vegetation in your yard to provide shade, shelter, and food for fish and animals, and to prevent erosion. Native species do not require pesticides or fertilizers and are well adapted to our local environment.
2.Eliminate invasive species from your garden or landscape. Invasive plants destroy local ecosystems by out competing the natives. They cost Americans billions in prevention, control and direct costs. Check out the Garden Smart Guide for information on the regions most intractable species along with alternative plants to encourage.
3.Put in a rain garden! Rain gardens are a beautiful way to manage stormwater runoff because they allow rain to soak into the ground naturally, reducing the amount of pollution that gets into our creeks, rivers, and wetlands. Rain gardens also help in maintaining the natural hydrology so streams do not flood as severely in the winter or go dry during the summer. For more information, East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation district has how-to information and links on their website or you can use this useful brochure from Washington State University.
4.Disconnect your downspout. Leave gutters in place while directing the downspout into your yard or a rain barrel for yard watering. This can help prevent creek flooding by filtering the rainwater through the soil into groundwater, rather than sending it directly into the creek or into a combined sewer. Be sure to check with your local government before disconnecting, as some soil types and topography are not amenable to downspout disconnection.
5.Eliminate pesticides and minimize fertilizer use. Pesticides can be deadly to fish and other wildlife. Over-used fertilizers can also be harmful to wildlife by overwhelming streams with unusually high nutrient levels. Start your own compost pile as a source of free, natural fertilizer for your yard. Metro has complete instructions on where to start.
6.Prevent run-off by sweeping patios and sidewalks instead of hosing them. Hosing wastes water and carries contaminants into the creek. Also, wash your car on the lawn with biodegradable soap or at a car wash that recycles water.
7.Clean up animal waste to prevent it from washing into waterways and contaminating the water. For owners of small livestock, manage your waste within confined areas that cannot runoff into creeks or wetlands. Use vegetated filter strips or maintain existing riparian buffers to keep manure from entering local streams. Maintain a good gravel or sand bed in horse and other livestock yards. For more information small livestock manure management, go to: http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/manure-mud-management
8.Keep your car properly maintained so that oil and other automotive solutions do not run into the creek. Always recycle your leftover motor oil curbside or at automobile shops. Properly dispose of other hazardous automotive products, solvents, or yard chemicals at a hazardous waste facility or neighborhood collection events.
9.If you have one, maintain your septic system. Pump your system regularly (every 3-5 years), have it inspected and keep good records. For more tips on caring for your septic system visit the Oregon State University Extension website.
10.Become a Tillamook Bay Watershed Council member or volunteer! Join us at our meetings and community events! Take part in upcoming local neighborhood watershed meetings! Your participation allows us to continue to implement restoration activities and organize exciting community events in the Tillamook Bay Watershed.
Watershed councils work with private landowners and a host of other partners to do voluntary projects that improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat while improving or maintaining productivity of the land. Planting streamside trees and shrubs, reducing erosion and runoff, installing streamside fencing, replacing fish-blocking culverts, removing invasive vegetation, and restoring wetlands are just a few examples of projects that private landowners undertake with the help of watershed councils.
Current Tillamook Bay Watershed Council projects include:
Wilson River Restoration Project
The TBWC is working in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry, Bonneville Power Administration, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to improve over four acres of riparian areas along the Wilson River.
Munson Creek
The Munson Creek Habitat Enhancement project brought together nine diverse partners to remove six culverts and replace them with two bridges and two new culverts to improve fish passage to three miles of upstream habitat. Habitat enhancement and riparian restoration activities were also conducted. The council worked with Tillamook High School to develop a three year monitoring program for the natural resources science classes.
Tillamook River LFA
Along with previous or on-going work in the Miami, Wilson, Trask and Kilchis watersheds, the Tillamook Bay Watershed Council is developing a restoration plan for the Tillamook River basin. Potential salmon habitat improvement projects might include riparian plantings for shade or culvert upgrades for passage. Before getting started, however, the council will need to understand more about what limits salmon survival in the basin. The council and its partners will examine existing scientific data gathered over the past few years, as well as completing their own study of the Tillamook and its major tributaries (such as Fawcett, Munson, Mills, Bewley, Sutton, Joe, Beaver, Esther, Tomlinson, Simmons, and Killam creeks). As part of the study, contractors will walk the entire Tillamook River basin and evaluate habitat condition for Coho and Steelhead salmon. The information gathered by the council will help it to suggest the best activities that may maintain or restore salmon habitat while supporting the values of landowners in the watershed.
Data Synthesis
In an effort to better prioritize projects and council efforts, the TBWC is creating a data synthesis project that brings together the extensive data that has been collected in the watershed over the past decades. This project will provide a living database, maps, and ongoing ranking system that will synthesize existing and future data in order to evaluate high priority basins for project implementation.
Cruiser Creek/ Elkhorn
In 2004, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began discussing opportunities to collaborate on habitat enhancement within the Elkhorn drainage. Straddling ODF and BLM land, the 6th field Elkhorn Watershed lies within the Trask River Watershed, one of the five major sub-basins in the Tillamook Bay Watershed. The first such collaborative effort within the region, the project offered a unique opportunity to leverage the efforts of state and federal landowners towards common restoration goals. Local watershed organizations such as the council and the Tillamook Estuaries Partnership were brought in to help manage the project across state, federal, and private landowners. Implementation occurred in the Cruiser Creek sub-basin in 2005, replacing three fish passage barriers, improving 1.5 miles of instream habitat and 5 acres of riparian habitat, and decommissioning 3.5 miles of road. A second phase of habitat enhancement is planned for 2008 to improve instream habitat along three miles of stream, with helicopter placement of large wood.
