History
Throughout the state of Oregon, watershed councils came into being in the late 1990s in response to the call from the Governor’s Watershed Enhancement Board to address the significant decline in native Oregon salmon and steelhead.
The North Cost Watershed Council was formed as a 501c3 non-profit in 2001 to begin the work of habitat restoration on the north Oregon coast by coordinating the work of four watershed groups within Clatsop County: Youngs Bay, Skipanon, Nicolai/Wickiup and Ecola Creek.
In 2019 the four groups reorganized as the River Council (including Skipanon, Youngs Bay, Nicolai Wickiup and other Lower Columbia drainages in Clatsop County) and Coastal Council (including Ecola, Arch Cape, Short Sands and other coast drainages in Clatsop County) all under the umbrella of the North Coast Watershed Association (NCWA).
The NCWA works collaboratively within the community and in partnership with local, regional and federal agencies, as well as businesses, corporations, landowners and volunteers to foster stewardship, restoration, enhancement, recreation and celebration of our local rivers and watersheds. We serve as a resource for and coordinate the activities of our member watershed councils (River and Coastal Councils) and maintain a diverse and engaged Board of Directors.
The NCWA builds healthy communities through education and outreach, encouraging conservation, taking region-wide issues to the legislative level and providing opportunities for the public, landowners, and schools to become engaged in improving the health of their watersheds. We will continue to seek, maintain and increase funding for our staff, restoration projects, monitoring, assessments and activities that celebrate our local rivers and watersheds.
The North Coast Watershed Association Board of Directors (BOD) is made up of representatives from each watershed council as well as other stakeholders who have an interest in the health of their watershed. The BOD meets the last Wednesday of every month, the River Council meets every even-numbered month on the second Thursday, and the Coastal Council meets every odd-numbered month on the third Monday. See our Events page for details. Board meetings are open to the public, as are meetings of our Coastal and River Councils.
For an in-depth introduction to the foundation and development of our organization and others that steward Oregon’s watersheds watch this recent Clatsop County Watershed Workshop.
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Please contact the watershed Executive Director at northcoastwatershedcouncils@gmail.com for more information.
