Our Work
Projects
We manage projects and participate in partner projects which contribute to water quality improvement, habitat restoration, and overall watershed health across the basin.
All Projects
Collaborations
Summer 2022
The Tualatin Basin Wide Rapid Bio-Assessment (RBA) project will inventory 121 miles of priority stream habitat to help organizational and agency partners quantify the distribution and relative abundance of all juvenile salmon and steelhead species during the critical period of summer low stream flows. This inventory will serve as a basis for prioritized restoration actions pursued by the watershed council.
River Restoration
On beautiful Gales Creek, at the Balm Grove site, partners are coming together to accomplish a long-held community goal: Removal of a small dam with a big impact to fish in Gales Creek and the larger Tualatin River Watershed.
History of Balm Grove Dam:The Balm Grove Dam, a small, obsolete concrete structure located in Gales Creek, 12 miles upstream from where the creek joins the Tualatin River near Forest Grove, has been impeding fish passage for generations. This dam has blocked access to critical spawning habitats for species such as coho salmon, winter steelhead, mountain whitefish, and the endangered Pacific Lamprey. In response, local conservation organizations including Tree For All, Clean Water Services, the Intertwine Alliance, Metro, Northwest...
Pacific Lamprey: Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) hold significant cultural value for Indigenous tribes in the Tualatin River Basin, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Historically, Pacific Lamprey were a vital food source and held cultural significance, providing essential nutrients during times of scarcity and fostering strong cultural bonds. Beyond their role in traditional diets, lamprey are seen as symbols of ecological balance and interconnectedness within their communities. Ecologically, Pacific Lamprey...
River Restoration
September 2021
The Clear Creek Large Wood Debris Installation project protects an important source of naturally cold water in our Drinking Water Source Area. The project also connects two prior projects together for a total of 2.3 miles of treated habitat.
Coffee Creek Large Wood & Aquatic Organism Passage Project
August 2024
The Coffee Creek project opens access to and enhances critical salmonid habitat in the Gales Creek watershed. This project also addresses two active headcuts and stabilizes a legacy beaver flat, improving a key 4.1-mile stretch of Coffee Creek.
River Restoration
2018 - 2020
This instream restoration project was developed to improve aquatic and riparian habitat, fish passage, and water quality conditions along Plentywater Creek and East Fork Dairy Creek.
Finger Creek Aquatic Organism Project
July 2025
Located on a tributary to Gales Creek, the Finger Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project is a key restoration effort aimed at enhancing aquatic organism passage and improving riparian habitat. Identified by NetMap in 2022 as needing restoration with a focus on steelhead trout, the project will restore natural stream functions, improve habitat connectivity, and support the recovery of fish populations. The project is set for construction in Summer 2025.
Collaborations
River Restoration
Summer 2018
This project is the second phase of three restoration treatments to Clear Creek, an important cold water contributor to Gales Creek. The purpose of the project was to provide summer rearing habitat and cold water refugia to juvenile salmonids migrating upstream.
Collaborations
June 2021 - December 2022
The Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Impoundments Project is an effort by the Joint Water Commission (JWC) and the Tualatin River Watershed Council (TRWC) to reduce HABS within the Drinking Water Source Area (DWSA) and promote best management practices (BMPs) for landowners who have impoundments on their property.
Collaborations
January 2021 - January 2022
The NetMap Pilot Project is a collaborative effort between the Tualatin River Watershed Council (TRWC) and the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD). The NetMap tools will be used to create an analysis for steelhead Intrinsic Potential (IP) and anchor habitat. That analysis will inform future restoration opportunities for floodplain reconnection and anchor habitat protection.
People & Wildlife
Ongoing
Beavers provide many benefits to our natural environment. This basin-wide coordinated beaver strategy is a collaboration between the Tualatin River Watershed Council, the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, Clean Water Services, and The Wetlands Conservancy. Together we are creating tools which will help our organizational and agency partners as well as our residential community members work toward coexistence solutions whenever possible.
