Well, we help people who reside or work within the North Santiam River Watershed. We help folks interested in solving concerns related natural resource management, fish habitat restoration, fuels reduction and firewise community-building, improve water quality, and more.
How do we do this? Well, first we gather information by visiting your property of interest and listen to what your concerns and goals are. This is information-gathering helps determine funding opportunities and project planning, but also provides context to general conservation issues and as well as natural marvels of the North Santiam River basin.
Second, when folks have learned enough, and when they’re ready to commit to tackling a habitat or watershed problem, we’re really good at making it easy for them to do so. We are knowledgeable of funding opportunities, incentive or rebate programs, reimbursement grants, and many, many resources and stakeholders in the basin. We love to help out our community, socially and economically while improving the natural resources in the area.
We also enjoy building partnerships with others, including businesses. We are happy to collaborate on events that relate to improving the North Santiam River Basin.
Yes! We became a registered 501(c)(3) in 2016. We are a non-governmental, non-advocacy, grassroots nonprofit.
Donations and contributions made to the NSWC are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Our EIN is: 36-4885684.
No, we are a group of community volunteers who love the river and streams and the community of the North Santiam. We think they should be healthy and we think the economic and social health of the human communities in our watershed are important too.
But, our council, like all of the watershed councils in Oregon, was originally formed as a result of a state statute –ORS 541.350 (1995). And we do receive financial support from the Oregon Lottery and other sources.
We figure, if there are funds available to put back into our community, we will try to do that.
- noxious weeds
- removing barriers to native fish migration
- restore fish habitat in the streams
- rehabilitate stream side conditions that affect water quality and water quantity
- we also help with prairie and oak-savanna restoration
The North Santiam Watershed Council offers land planning services by helping landowners figure out how to identify projects, get financial help and identify possible tax benefits, as well as design and build habitat projects that:
- are based on scientific analysis and
- improve water, riparian and upland health
We do this by developing partnerships and resources to plan, fund and implement projects.
Fill out our Landowner Inquiry form and we’ll get in touch to tell you more!
There are many ways you can volunteer to help improve the waters and lands of our watershed. The best way to get started is to attend one of the monthly council meetings.
Another great option is to complete our Volunteer Interest Form, or send an email to: council@northsantiam.org
We depend on the help of community members to support the health of the watershed!
The North Santiam Watershed Council meets on the third Tuesday of every month, except for the month of December. Meetings begin at 6:00 pm and usually last about an hour and a half depending on the agenda.
Most of the time someone with special knowledge will give an interesting and informative presentation on a habitat restoration project or another subject particularly interesting to our area.
We are currently meeting at the Old School Community Center, located at 22057 Emma St SE, Lyons, OR 97358.
We do have a Zoom hybrid option at this time! If you are interested in attending a meeting and would like an invitation, please let us know via email to council@northsantiam.org. Join us, you’ll be welcome!
The Council’s dedicated board members meet before the 6pm meeting to tackle the business side of things. They review projects that have been proposed to the group, evaluate the information that is shared with the landowners who are considering working together with the Council, budgets, and like we said, the business side of things.
For the remainder of 2024, meetings will occur on:
October 22nd, from 6-7:30 pm
November 19th, from 6-7:30 pm. This meeting will have a special presentation by ODFW Staff on Native Turtles.