The Nehalem Bay Watershed Council envisions a Nehalem River that provides resilient habitats for Coho Salmon recovery alongside thriving agricultural, timber, and tourist industries.
Project Manager
Application Closing Date:
December 26, 2025
Compensation: $33.67 - $38.50/hr depending on experience (equivalent to a full-time annual salary range of $70,000 to $80,000). Overtime and higher rates on special projects may apply.
Benefits: 100% premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance; up to 3% Simple IRA match; 10 holidays and 2 floating holidays; paid vacation and paid sick time; partial reimbursement for cell phone and internet bill.
Applications Due: December 26th, 2025 @ 6 PM
Review of Applications: Winter 2025.
Location: Nehalem, Oregon (see full job description)
Timeline: We hope to have this position filled by March 2026. Interviews will be scheduled with selected candidates in January 2026.
The Project Manager will design, fund, implement, and monitor habitat restoration projects in the Nehalem River Basin. This includes engaging and coordinating with stakeholders throughout the watershed.
This position requires being able to work independently and as part of a team to support the work of the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council. The Project Manager will regularly meet and work with the Executive Director (ED) to set work priorities and assist in making decisions on current issues.
Who We Are
The Nehalem Bay Watershed Council (NBWC) was founded in 1997 as the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council.
We are a non-regulatory 501(c)3 non-profit and our ongoing habitat restoration work promotes the health of the Nehalem Watershed.
We serve as an advisory body providing local expertise to regional, state, and federal planning activities to ensure the needs of the Nehalem Watershed and its communities are met.
These services include assistance with culvert replacements for fish passage, riparian plantings, instream wood enhancement, and more. We pride ourselves on working in close partnership with landowners seeking to improve habitat quality on their properties.
The Nehalem Bay Watershed Council includes lifelong residents, newcomers, part timers, and people who care deeply about the region.
From hiking and hunting in the hills to paddling and fishing on the bay, the Watershed plays an important role in all our lives. What happens here is personal to all of us, and it is the mission of the Council to foster the health of the Watershed now and for the future.
Currently Zac Mallon, Director, is our only employee running day to day operations, long term strategy, project management, outreach, and anything else that comes up. His bio and those of the current Board Members are below.
We invite anyone interested in being more involved with the NBWC to attend a meeting and to apply to join the board. To do so please contact us!
We regularly work with:
• Rural residential landowners
• Agricultural landowners
• Timber companies
• Local agencies (Tillamook Public Works, etc.)
• Land Trusts
• Oregon Department of Forestry
• Municipal Governments
• And more.
Our funding for projects comes from:
• Private contributions
• Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Siletz Tribal Charitable Contributions Fund
• The Wild Salmon Center
• The Nature Conservancy
• Trout Unlimited
• And others as applicable to individual projects.
Where We Work
The Nehalem Bay Watershed Council covers the Nehalem Watershed ridgetop to ridgetop from the confluence of the Nehalem River with Humbug Creek downstream to Nehalem Bay.
This includes all of the North Fork Nehalem River and the Salmonberry River as well.
We primarily focus on steam, river, and wetland properties but uplands are also important to the watershed.
Contact us if you are within our coverage area and are interested in working with us.
our Team
Zac has been the Council Coordinator of the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council since October of 2018. Formerly an Ecologist at the Adopt a Stream Foundation, Zac brings over a decade of experience with invasive plant management, Salmonid surveys, and habitat restoration to the Council.
He holds a Masters of Environmental Horticulture from the University of Washington, Seattle. There he managed wetland mitigation in Yesler Swamp, wrote his thesis on management of Arum italicum, and focused on habitat restoration project management in his coursework. He’s also worked with the Northwest Watershed Institute, WDFW, ODFW, Alaskan Observers, and the North Coast Watershed Association.
With the LNWC he manages fish passage projects, in-stream habitat enhancement, riparian plantings, strategic planning, collaborations, and keeping the wheels on this non-profit cart.
A transplant from Vermont, Zac enjoys botanizing around the Nehalem Basin, mushroom foraging, hiking, and canoeing all accompanied by his rescued Siberian Husky, Persephone. Not so secretly, he’s also a juggler and object manipulator who enjoys learning new tricks with props and then setting them on fire.
Mark was born and raised on the North Oregon Coast and spent his youth exploring its forests, streams, and beaches. He initially became involved with the Council back in 2005, and has served as Board Chair since 2015. Mark holds a BS in environmental science from Oregon State University; a JD with certificates in environmental and natural resources law, ocean and coastal law, and international law from the University of Oregon; and a MEd in STEM from American College of Education.
After completing his studies, voyaging to nearly two dozen countries around the world, and living overseas, Mark was ultimately drawn back to his natal soil. He has worked as a park ranger assistant, watershed researcher and analyst, environmental law clerk, salmon biologist, commercial salmon fisherman, and as an educator teaching a wide variety of high school and dual credit science classes, including a watershed science class he created.
Mark is currently the Conservation Director for the North Coast Land Conservancy, working to protect ecosystems along the North Oregon Coast, and also serves on the board of directors for Coast Kids, which is a local nonprofit that provides resources and opportunities to children in North Tillamook County.
In his spare time, Mark enjoys surfing, traveling, and spending time outdoors, especially with his fiancee, Kate, and their adventurous, young daughters Kaila and Marlo.
Education:
• BA Reed College Majoring in Biology, Minor Philosophy. Focus: conservation biology, evolutionary ecology.
• MS Oregon State University Forest Ecology (minor Soils), dept Forest Science. Principal focus ecosystems ecology, geochemistry, and landscape dynamics.
• Unfinished PhD research Oregon State Dept Forest Science focus: watershed analytical, sediment routing, and aquatic habitat process linkages in North Fork John Day, central Oregon.
I was lucky enough to work with forest ecosystem and watershed science pioneers Kermit Cromack, Jim Sedel, Fred Swanson, Lee Benda, and Dan Miller, and Gordy Reeves.
In addition to my undergraduate training in evolutionary and conservation biology, my graduate work allowed me to pursue interests in soils, forest ecology, geomorphology, geochemistry, social contexts of natural resource management and how they intersect watershed sciences. I have many years of experience in my family farming business. My unusual background has provided me with close friends and contacts working as research and applied scientists, working farmers, private forest managers, and federal land managers, and conservation biologists. My model for watershed conservation and restoration relies on strong community ties and respect among stakeholders and partners who don’t always agree. Sitting down to dinner and sharing food and drink at my home with neighbors, colleagues and friends is my favorite strategy to build a strong community. It is a privilege and genuine pleasure to work with fellow board members, our Director, partners and stakeholders. I am honored to be part of a great team.
David grew up in Seaside, OR and spent much of his time fishing and crabbing with his grandfather on the Nehalem. After graduating Seaside High School, he attended Oregon State University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management. He has worked as a forester on the North Coast for 8 years. David enjoys spending his time skiing, surfing, backpacking, gardening, and anything else that keeps him outside. His faithful four-legged companion Cedar is never far from his side.
David has a special interest in watershed hydrology and stream enhancement projects. The impacts that riparian areas have on stream morphology is especially fascinating to him. His work as a forester and with the watershed council has given him the opportunity to see firsthand how interconnected and important all aspects of watershed ecosystems are.
Michele grew up in Beaverton, OR and in his free time enjoys fishing, backpacking, snowboarding, and skateboarding. He has been involved with the watershed council as a member since 2019 and a board member since 2024. Michele attended Oregon State University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management. During his time in school and since he has worked as a timber faller, log scaler, and forester.
Michele has worked as a forester for the Oregon Department of Forestry on the North Coast for 4 ½ years based out of Astoria, Oregon. He enjoys being an active member of his community and also serves on the board of the Warrenton Parks Alliance nonprofit as well as serving as the Chair-Elect of the Tillamook-Clatsop chapter of the Society of American Foresters. Michele is also a Type A Fire Warden and qualified as a Firefighter 1 and is often deployed as a wildland firefighter during fire season.
His time with the Oregon Department of Forestry has allowed him to work on many stream habitat enhancement projects and has given him a unique interest and appreciation for the role of forestry in watershed and riparian management.