Lower Nehalem Community Trust

09/25/2026

On our last day celebrating National Estuaries Week, we want to take a moment to celebrate the community we rely on to steward the estuary we call home.

Today we’re highlighting Allan Olson, our 2026 Ferdun Conservation Awardee. Each year, we commemorate Gareth and Georgenne Ferdun, two of the founders of the Lower Nehalem Community Trust, by honoring a community member who has contributed to the protection of our natural world.

Allan Olson is a long time North Coast community member and advocate who served on the Lower Nehalem Community Trust board of directors from June 2012 through January 2024, the majority of those years as President. While serving on LNCT’s board, Allan also served on the Coalition of Oregon Land Trust’s board, where he worked with other conservation leaders to advocate for statewide conservation impact in Oregon.

Today, we thank Allan and the many volunteers who work everyday to help us steward these lands.

09/24/2026

We’ve sure noticed it’s Apple time! Hope to see you at one of our favorite community events!

Mark your calendar for the White Clover Grange Apple Festival on October 11th from 11-3

Join us as we celebrate the harvest season with apple c***r making, heritage apple tastings, games and activities for the kids, treats from Gnarly Tacos and Blessed Donuts, and a raffle for a homemade quilt!

This event is free and open to the public. Donations for apple c***r gratefully accepted.

09/24/2026

Today, we’re throwing it back to our favorite community clean-up: The Biennial Nehalem Estuary Clean-Up. It takes a dedicated community to show up in the rain, wind, and cold year after year to clean debris from all reaches of the estuary.

Pictured first; volunteers removing asphalt from the estuary in 2003, just one year after LNCT’s founding. Fast forward to 2025, 130+ volunteers of all ages worked by foot and watercraft to clear debris from the estuary; from tires and gas tanks to a 30-foot inflatable rubber dragon.

As one volunteer put it, the day’s meaning goes beyond the debris removed: its neighbors working side by side in the rain, stories shared over warm food, a little hard work and a lot of mud.

09/23/2026

Taking a break from our National Estuary Week programming to share that early this morning our project team officially breached the d**e at McCoy Marsh and reconnected tidal influence to the marsh for the first time in nearly a century.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to be celebrating this milestone during a week dedicated to the estuaries we steward and love. Stay tuned for further project updates!

📷Jesse Andrew Clark / Old Grove Films

09/22/2026

In honor of National Estuaries Week, we’re sharing three of our favorite places to and explore the Nehalem River Estuary.

1) Sitka Wetlands from Alder Creek Bridge: Access this path from the South end of Tohl Ave, hike along a flat and grassy, alder-shaded path to Alder Creek Bridge. Take in the view of Sitka Wetlands, the 25-acre protected area and see tidally influenced forested wetland, salt marsh, scrub shrub uplands, and freshwater wetland.

2) Sand Dune at Nehalem Bay State Park: This big sand dune is one of our favorite spots to bring campers during the North Coast Explorers Camp with Hoffman Center for the Arts and NCRD. From the boat launch at Nehalem Bay State Park, walk north on the (bay-side) beach, the sand dune is on the east side of the bay, just past the airport.

3) Bott’s Marsh via the water trail: Paddle 1.5 miles from Nehalem City Docks toward Wheeler along the Tillamook County Water Trail (Tillamook Estuaries Partnership). This stretch of the water trail is the perfect place to see the transition from freshwater into estuarine habitat. We’re partial to the view of Bott’s Marsh, the salt marsh stewarded by us, your local land trust, just before you enter Wheeler.

09/21/2026

Happy National Estuaries Week! All week, we're celebrating the places where rivers meet the sea.

This year's national theme is , so we hope you can find some time this week to get outside and explore the Nehalem River Estuary (or an estuary near you).

Swipe through for a few reasons estuaries matter, and follow along this week as we share how we work to steward the estuary we call home.

📷 Photos 1-3: Jesse Andrew Clark / Jesse Clark

09/18/2026

Discover the world of mushrooms through a guided exploration with local mycology naturalist and educator, Brittany Marcotte. We will walk LNCT’s Headwater’s trail and explore mushrooms, forests, and the sometimes overwhelming complexity of fungal identification. This walk will cover ~1.5 miles over uneven terrain with a slight elevation gain.

09/17/2026

In estuary and tidal wetland restoration, crib structures, often called log cribs or nurse cribs, are a tool used to simulate natural nurse logs (fallen, decaying trees that offer seedlings shade, nutrients, water, and protection). Crib structures allow artificial gain in elevation in sunken or flooded areas.

By creating localized high ground, these structures protect sensitive saplings from excessive tidal drowning, salinity shock, and wave action until they can establish mature root systems.

At the McCoy Marsh Tidal Reconnection site, we are installing nurse cribs throughout the floodplain and on soil mounds to plant Sitka spruce and native shrubs. With help from Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP), we will monitor and document how the different plants grow to learn more about what works for estuary restoration in our corner of the coast!

📷 Jesse Andrew Clark / Old Grove Films