North Santiam Watershed Council

09/02/2026

Summer Recap 🌿✨

This summer in the North Santiam flew by! From our fish passage project in Salem to our floodplain restoration project in the Breitenbush, from making beaver dam analogs in Jefferson to treating invasive species across the basin, we had a blast. We hope you did, too!

08/18/2026

🔥 TONIGHT: Wildfire Ready Linn County Presentation 🔥

Join the North Santiam Watershed Council for tonight’s monthly board meeting featuring a special presentation from Aaron Gibson, Wildfire Outreach Specialist with South Santiam Watershed Council!

Aaron will introduce Wildfire Ready Linn County, a collaborative program helping Linn County communities become better prepared for wildfire through:

🏡 Free home wildfire-readiness assessments
🌲 Defensible space support
📚 Wildfire preparedness resources
🤝 Local partnerships to help get the work done

Meeting Details: Tonight, Tuesday, August 18 from 6:00–7:00 PM
at the North Santiam Watershed Council Office located at 403 N. 3rd Ave., Stayton, OR

Whether you live in Linn County or simply want to learn more about wildfire preparedness, we hope you’ll join us!

Learn more, get resources, and be wildfire ready. https://www.wildfirereadylinnco.org/home

08/11/2026

Happening this Friday! 🌿

Looking for something fun to do while you're downtown Stayton's TGIF? Stop by the North Santiam Watershed Council Office for our Open House!

We're celebrating our move into the new office space, and connect with the watershed community! We will have snacks, fish printing, watershed trivia (with prizes!), a macroinverbrate station and plenty of information about your local watershed, and ways to get involved.

Whether you have questions about what we do, want to learn about current restoration projects, are curious about volunteering, just want to check out our new office, or are looking for a fun activity while you're downtown, we'd love to see you!

📅 Friday, August 14
🕔 5:00–8:00 PM
📍 403 N. 3rd Ave., Stayton

Bring your family, stop in for a few minutes or stay awhile and chat with board members and staff, we're looking forward to meeting you and sharing what we're doing to keep the North Santiam Watershed healthy for our communities.

See you this Friday!

08/03/2026

While we don't have any taps or jewelry (hint hint to where our new office is located!), we do have snacks, fish printing, and plenty of information about your local watershed and ways to get involved!

Join the North Santiam Watershed Council for our Community Open House during Stayton's TGI Friday event on Friday, August 14, from 5:00–8:00 PM at 403 N. 3rd Ave., Stayton.

Whether you have questions about what we do, want to learn about current restoration and community projects, are curious about joining our board and/or volunteering, just want to check out our new office, or are simply looking for a fun activity or chat while you're downtown, we'd love to see you!

Stop by to:
😊 Meet our staff and board members
🐟 Make a fish print to take home
🧠 Test your knowledge with watershed trivia for a chance to win prizes
🍪 Enjoy complimentary snacks and refreshments
🌲 Learn how healthy rivers and lands benefit our communities

Drop in anytime, bring your family, and say hello before kicking off your weekend. We can't wait to welcome you!

📍 403 N. 3rd Ave., Stayton OR
🕔 Friday, August 14 | 5:00–8:00 PM

07/21/2026

Last week, our team had the opportunity to engage in several exciting projects and partnerships that are helping shape the future of restoration work across our watershed and region.

Early in the week, we walked the future site of our North Fork Breitenbush Floodplain Reconnection project with folks from the U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest and our contractor to discuss how we'll revegetate the area after we reconnect the river with its floodplain next summer. It's exciting to start envisoning how native plants will help bring this landscape back to life, improve habitat complexity, and support long-term ecosystem recovery.

Later in the week, we had the pleasure of joining McKenzie Watershed Council and their project partners including McKenzie River Trust, EWEB and USFS-Willamette National Forest, to observe the implementation of their Phase 3 Stage 0 floodplain restoration project on the South Fork Mckenzie River. Seeing this incredible work in action, learning from experienced practitioners and contractors, and discussing project delivery and workflow processes provided valuable insights that we'll apply to our own floodplain reconnection project in the North Fork Breitenbush River!

06/16/2026

There is a precautionary recreational advisory on Detroit Reservoir for cyanotoxins. Current levels are safe for general population but may be harmful to pets.

To learn more about harmful algal blooms (HABs): https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/RECREATION/HARMFULALGAEBLOOMS/Pages/index.aspx?fbclid=IwdGRjcASeSGRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEev9_939zRwRPaP_Y2NVm4SMiuxPgSqdX3BKckl2pXX1QEGUjmlfYRpGD7ujY_aem_bwaJ_01-qMmGVh4OakiO0A

Here is a map of current HABs advisory: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/65640c2c9adf464794137739847a2b0a/page/Homepage

Planning a trip to Detroit Lake? Here's an important update for pet owners.

A precautionary advisory has been issued for Detroit Lake due to cyanotoxins. Current levels are considered safe for people, but they may still be harmful to pets.

If you're bringing your dog along, take a few extra precautions:
🐕 Keep dogs out of water that is foamy, scummy, or looks like spilled paint.
💧 Don't let them drink lake water or lick algae from rocks, the shoreline, or their fur.
🚿 Rinse your dog with clean water if they come into contact with a bloom.
🚨 Contact a veterinarian right away if your dog shows symptoms such as vomiting, weakness, drooling, or staggering.

We all want our summer adventures to end with happy memories and wagging
tails. Help keep your furry family members safe by knowing what to look for before
they jump in.

Know someone who loves spending time at Detroit Lake with their dog? Share this
post with them.

Learn more about harmful algal blooms and current advisories:
https://tinyurl.com/42km4259 or scan the QR code.

06/12/2026

06/04/2026

Last month, we were joined by sophomore students from to build a Beaver Dam Analog (BDA) in the Lower North Santiam basin 🦫🌿

For the uninitiated: Beaver Dam Analogs are human-made structures designed to mimic natural beaver dams, encouraging beaver activity and helping restore stream function. Think of them as “speed bumps” for a stream! In deeply incised channels like this one, BDAs can help slow water, capture sediment, improve water quality, and moderate stream temperatures.

Students rolled up their sleeves and participated in every aspect of the restoration process, from cutting wooden posts to size and weaving cottonwood branches to learning about floodplain mapping, soils, and vegetation surveys that help practitioners make informed decisions about where beaver might thrive.

In just a few short hours, a beautiful BDA was built! We’re excited to see how it performs once water begins flowing freely through the channel.

A huge thank-you to our partners , who joined us in the field and volunteered their time to make this project a success. We also gratefully acknowledge the Pacific Power Foundation for making this project possible through its financial support of the growth and vitality of the communities served by Rocky Mountain Power and Pacific Power 💚🌿

05/14/2026

We hope you’ll join us next Wednesday evening for a community open house focused on the future of wildfire recovery and restoration in the Little North Fork and Breitenbush watersheds!

As communities in these two basins continue to navigate changing landscapes, forest conditions, recreation access, and restoration priorities, we want to hear about the places that matter most to the people who live, work, and play here.

This event will include interactive maps and community input activities, information about ongoing conservation and restoration planning, opportunities to share community priorities, and good food. All are welcome, and we hope to see you there!

05/08/2026

May is Wildfire Awareness Month!

Join the NSWC on May 19th at the Mehama Old School Community & Youth Center for a community speaker night focused on wildfire resilience in our basin. Starting at 6pm, we'll hear from local folks working on community wildfire defense projects, prescribed fire, and other efforts that help our communities prepare, adapt, and stay connected.

This is also a great opportunity for landowners and community members to learn how to get involved with local organizations doing this work. Building resilience starts with knowing your neighbors! Refreshments will be provided, and we'll have coloring pages for kids, too.

We hope to see you there!