Oregon Conservation

03/26/2026

The Elmer Dam was more than aging concrete — it was a daily chore for the multi-generational Hassinger family that depended on it. The dam’s fish ladder demanded constant manual labor, a daily task of adjusting boards just to maintain flow. Union Soil & Water Conservation District and NRCS Oregon stepped up to help solve the issue and navigate the technical solutions. Even when supply chain issues increased the price of the project, the agencies forged a new path.

Watch the entire video, linked in the comments!

03/24/2026

Student volunteers recently helped plant roughly 1,200 new willow trees along Shotpouch Creek outside Philomath as part of a yearslong restoration project.

This is part of the Youth Watershed Council, and initiative by Marys River Watershed Council.

Student volunteers recently helped plant roughly 1,200 new willow trees along Shotpouch Creek outside Philomath as part of a yearslong restoration project.

03/18/2026

Elijah Bristow State Park, a sprawling 847-acre recreational area near Eugene, Oregon, is in the process of an ambitious restoration effort to heal decades of ecological disruption. While the park appears healthy to casual observers, the Watershed Council recognizes an opportunity to restore the Middle Fork Willamette River’s natural flow and reconnect it to its historic floodplain.

This approach promises multiple benefits: enhanced habitat diversity for fish and wildlife, improved flood control through natural water retention, better water quality, and increased ecosystem resilience in the face of climate change. The project takes a community-centered approach to its planning process, combining technical expertise with extensive public input through a Community Advisory Committee and local landowners, ensuring that restoration efforts reflect both scientific best practices and community values.

Throughout the process, Indigenous communities have been central to the work being planned and implemented, ensuring it remains attuned to the cultural legacy of the Kalapuya, Molalla, Klamath, and Tenino people. It’s a holistic approach that seeks restoration work that heals both ecological and cultural landscapes.

03/18/2026

Learn about threatened Oregon white oak and the unique process of oak release to ensure the health and longevity of Oregon white oak ecosystems in Washington County, Oregon.

Learn about threatened Oregon white oak and the unique process of oak release to ensure the health and longevity of Oregon white oak ecosystems in Washington...

03/11/2026

“I was up on top watching my grandson bring a bull up on the canyon and I could see the sun shining off the water. The creek would be dry in August, and it had water in it that I could see from a mile away and a thousand feet up.”

Watch the inspiring story of Bruce and Linn Wilkins as they worked with NRCS Oregon and Gilliam Soil & Water Conservation District to tackle water issues with a holistic restoration plan along Thirtymile Creek in Eastern Oregon.

03/04/2026

The battle is on in sagebrush landscapes of southeastern Oregon, where invasive annual grasses like cheatgrass and medusahead rye have been steadily conquering rangeland. These invasives increase wildfire frequency while crowding out native perennial plants that wildlife and livestock depend on.The Malheur Watershed Council has long recognized this threat, prioritizing invasive annual grass treatment not only for habitat and forage protection, but for its critical role in reducing fire frequency and preventing watershed degradation.

For years, land managers felt they were fighting a losing battle with limited tools—until the arrival of an herbicide that suppresses shallow-rooted invasives for up to five years, giving deeper-rooted native species the breathing room they need to reclaim their territory. The Southeast Oregon Wildfire Resiliency Project is an exciting model of collaborative conservation. brought together organizations like Harney Soil and Water Conservation District, Malheur Watershed Council, federal agencies, tribes, private landowners, and local organizations under a unified strategy. With state funding, partners have treated over 70,000 acres with pre-emergent herbicides while simultaneously restoring native plant communities and reducing fire-fueling vegetation.

The project embodies what researchers call the “Defend the Core” approach, protecting intact ecosystems before they degrade rather than attempting costly restoration after the damage is done. By creating treatment barriers between degraded and healthy lands, managers are essentially drawing battle lines in the ecological war against invasive species.

02/26/2026

"Last summer, on Aug. 21, Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District staff delivered a presentation to its board of directors about a potential pilot program to, among other things, aid wildfire-affected landowners. Literally that same day, the Flat Fire broke out near Sisters. It ultimately burned more than 23,000 acres and prompted that pilot program to kick off quickly, rather than on a future to-be-determined date."

Last summer, on Aug. 21, Deschutes Soil and Water Conservation District staff delivered a presentation to its board of directors about a potential pilot program to, among other things, aid wildfire-affected landowners. Literally that same day, the Flat Fire broke out near Sisters. It ultimately burn...

02/25/2026

Check this out!

02/24/2026

For nearly a century, development along Oregon's Coquille River cut off critical habitat connections for young salmon, with drainage systems blocking access to slow-moving wetland areas essential for their growth and survival. The North Bank Working Landscapes Project at Coos Soil & Water Conservation shows how smart infrastructure upgrades can balance agricultural needs with healthy ecosystems.

The project's novel approach, replacing antiquated tide gates with smart tide gates that can be opened and closed as needed, allows seasonal flooding that supports both livestock operations and fish passage. Young coho salmon can now reach restored wetland channels where they face fewer predators and find better food sources, dramatically improving their survival compared to staying in the main river.

This collaborative model between landowners and conservation districts offers a scalable framework for addressing similar conflicts between the needs of farmers and those of wildlife in our waterways throughout the Pacific Northwest.

09/30/2025

A 150-acre forest known as Crane Prairie was dying, aspen groves were strangled by invasive pine, streamside areas were trampled and unprotected from grazing cattle. All it took for it to bounce back was a collaborative restoration effort that helped this ecosystem return to its former glory.

To make it happen, the landowner worked with Malheur Watershed Council and Malheur SWCD to implement strategic forest thinning, build 3,700 feet of protective fencing around aspen stands, and established rotational grazing systems with new livestock watering infrastructure. The water infrastructure in particular redirects natural spring water through underground pipes to designated watering stations, allowing cattle to drink while keeping them out of sensitive streamside areas.

The improvements are already visible: aspens are sprouting vigorously after decades of decline, 6 acres of streamside habitat along Crane Creek headwaters are now protected, and the forest stands are properly spaced to resist disease and wildfire. It’s an ideal case study on targeted intervention that allows natural regeneration to rapidly run its course. With the barriers to growth now removed, native vegetation is once again thriving.

The benefits extend far beyond property lines, creating habitat corridors, reducing fire risk, and protecting water quality for downstream users.

09/29/2025

Across the remote tributaries of Oregon's John Day River, native steelhead are losing ground as smallmouth bass expand upstream into their traditional spawning territories, creating a dramatic ecological shift. The Lower Mainstem John Day River population represents a unique community of steelhead, specially adapted to the dry Columbia Plateau where they depend on cool, spring-fed creeks for survival. Unlike their cousins in higher elevation watersheds, these steelhead face a new threat as smallmouth bass move into their native waters.

As stream temperatures rise, smallmouth bass—which prefer warmer waters—are predicted to expand their territory by a staggering 75% by 2080, potentially occupying up to 62% of current salmon and steelhead habitat in the Columbia River Basin. In most John Day tributaries, temperature naturally separates these species, with steelhead in the cool headwaters and bass in the warmer downstream reaches. But in the Lower Mainstem, this thermal barrier breaks down where spring-fed creeks meet the main river, giving bass direct access to prime steelhead nursery habitat at precisely the moment when young trout are emerging from their gravel nests, potentially creating a perfect storm of predation pressure on a species already struggling with habitat degradation and altered river flows.

Working with partners like the Gilliam SWCD, scientists have established monitoring stations in tributaries like Thirtymile Creek to understand how this invasion unfolds and whether bass predation represents a new threat that will push steelhead population.