Council History and Purpose

Council Purpose

As one of the fastest growing regions in the state, the Tualatin River Watershed confronts tremendous growth and development pressures. With forecasts of 500,000 additional people living in the Metro region (including the Tualatin Basin) in the next twenty years, the need to protect our water resources is critical. The Tualatin River Watershed faces challenges including high density development; conversion of productive farmland; increased flooding and encroachment on floodplains; intense agriculture and forestry uses; increased demands for water and sewer services; reduction of wetland, riparian areas, and fish and wildlife habitat; and pollution of its waterways.

The Department of Environmental Quality has designated the Tualatin River and its tributaries as "Water Quality Limited." Forestry, agricultural, and urban interests are working hard to meet the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). Continuing rapid urbanization of basin lands and competing demands for agricultural, forestry, industrial, and recreational uses of surface waters add to the complexity of the river's needs. The wide variety of land uses throughout the watershed has a significant impact on water quality and quantity which must be addressed in a comprehensive manner.

Recognizing the need to minimize watershed impacts and develop local solutions in a comprehensive manner, a small group of agency and government representatives began meeting in 1993 to discuss formation of a watershed council. The Tualatin River Watershed Council was formed in 1993 to provide more coordinated and integrated resource planning for the Tualatin River Watershed. Its purpose is to:

• Increase local input in management of watershed resources.

• Initiate resolution of problems and issues within the watershed.

• Identify problems and issues of importance to local citizens, groups, and users of the watershed.

• Diminish and eliminate further degradation of the watershed and its resources through better management practices.

• Increase the viability, diversity, and health of the watershed.

• Undertake a proactive approach in management of the watershed.

• Create and implement a watershed action plan encompassing, but not limited to current and potential problems and issues, potential solutions, restoration/ enhancement measures, and monitoring programs within the Tualatin River Watershed.

Council History

The Council is not a regulatory or enforcement agency. Instead, it makes recommendations to decision-makers and managers on ways to protect and restore Tualatin River resources. The Council strives to provide a framework for coordination and cooperation and uses consensus as its decision-making process. The 20-partner Council represents key interests and stakeholders in the watershed, ensuring a comprehensive look at watershed issues. Council partners also regularly communicate with other groups and individuals, forming an even broader network of watershed stakeholders.

For over two years, the group met to determine membership, create a mission and vision, develop by-laws, and formulate goals and objectives. In February 1996, the Council was officially recognized by the Washington County Board of Commissioners with representatives of the following stakeholder groups: citizens, agriculture, business and industry, environmental, forestry, education, local governments, chambers of commerce, and water and sewer providers.

In March 1996, the Council applied for a grant from the Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board (GWEB) to hire a full-time professional coordinator and received funding for one year and in May 1996, hired a full time Coordinator.

Council early years In January 1999, the Tualatin River Watershed Council adopted the Tualatin River Watershed Action Plan -- a long-term vision on how to improve water quality, improve fish and wildlife habitat, minimize soil erosion, minimize flooding, and increase recreational opportunities within the Tualatin River Watershed. The Action Plan takes a watershed-wide approach and strives to integrate existing plans and efforts. Implementation of the Plan involves various council partners, organizations, and other private and public stakeholders.

To assist with development of the Watershed Action Plan, the Council convened a Technical Assistance Committee (TAC) comprised of scientists, consultants and government officials with expertise in environmental science, biology, wetlands ecology, soil science, water quality, engineering, wildlife habitat, and hydrology. The TAC met periodically to review and evaluate existing information, identify problem areas, and recommend actions to the Council.

Also between 1997 and 2002, the Council completed five watershed assessments of the main Tualatin River basin and the sub-basins.  These assessments compiled existing information on historic and existing watershed conditions, such as soils, channel types, aquatic and terrestrial species and human impacts and provided recommendations for types of actions that would benefit the watershed(s).  The full text and summaries of these assessments can be found at Tualatin Basin information.  (link). 

Other Council projects during this time included: a two year fish populations and habitat study in rural segments of six tributary streams; .a culvert survey on Gales Creek; and a multiple-partnership project, the Citizen Photo-Point Monitoring project, in which volunteers were recruited and trained to monitor 22 restoration sites within the Tualatin Basin.;

Council recent history: 

In 2003, the Council made the decision to become a 501(c) 3 nonprofit corporation in order to provide additional opportunities for project funding.  Recognition of this status was obtained in May 2004. 

The Council recognized its tenth anniversary in May 2005 through A Watershed Event-2005, which provides a forum for Council stakeholder and partners to tell their individual stories of their watershed-wise practices in the basin.  The event also invites Tualatin River watershed residents to learn how they can do their part to improve watershed health and become watershed stewards!

The Council working with its partners identified and analyzed a stream segment that would benefit from stream habitat enhancement that would improve conditions for threatened winter steelhead, cutthroat trout and other fish species.  It completed this study, the Lower Gales Creek Habitat Enhancement Plan, http://www.trwc.org/tualatin-info/gales/gales2/gales-plan.html on a four mile reach of Gales Creek in 2003.  Funding from the study was from the Bureau of Reclamation.  Additional studies, geomorphic assessment, large wood survey and knotweed mapping and survey were completed in 2006.  During the summer of 2008, a private landowner will be implementing a project creates additional floodplain, provides wetland areas for amphibians and add large wood structures on the floodplain to provide scour and pools for native fish. 

Other Gales Creek activities include sponsoring water quality monitoring through Student Watershed Research Project (SWRP) with Forest Grove High School biology classes; an Invasive Weed Workshop (2006), a Gales Creek Watershed Conference (2007) and an invasive weed removal and riparian and upland planting project on a Washington County owned property in the reach.

The Council also worked with a private landowner to remove fish passage barrier culverts and replaced with a bridge on Bateman Creek.

The Council worked with partners Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Amar Properties and Association of NW Steelheaders, Tualatin Valley Chapter, on a fish passage barrier culvert survey at Stub Stewart State Park, located on West Fork Dairy Creek.  The resulting project, completed in 2008, removed road fills and fish passage barrier culverts on a tributary and on the main stem West Fork Dairy Creek and placed over 200 logs in a 1.1 mile stream reach to create better stream habitat. 

During 2005-07. the Council worked with partners and community volunteers on an invasive weed and riparian planting project at Moonshadow Park, a four acre park located on Ash Creek, in a more urbanized area of the Fanno Creek basin.

The Council completed a matrix which prioritizes stream reaches throughout the basin.  This tool will provide information to both the Council and Council partners on which stream reaches to concentrate restoration efforts.

The Watershed Council continues to work cooperatively and collaboratively in achieving the shared future of our watershed.