The Nehalem Bay Watershed Council envisions a Nehalem River that provides resilient habitats for Coho Salmon recovery alongside thriving agricultural, timber, and tourist industries.

Watch and listen

Volunteer EVents & Speaker Series

Living and Working with beavers for Salmon

Oct 12, 2023 2:00 PM

Process Based Riverscape Restoration

Apr 13, 2023 2:00 PM

Hide and Seek: Environmental DNA for Pacific Lamprey Conservation

Nov 10, 2022 3:00 PM

Trees to Tap: A Review of Forest Practices and Drinking Water in Oregon

Apr 14, 2022 3:00 PM

Marine Heatwaves and their Effects on Coastal Fishes

May 12, 2022 3:00 PM

Chinook Rearing in Nearshore Sandy Habitats

Feb 10, 2022 3:00 PM

Restoring Sea Otters to the Oregon Coast

Oct 14, 2021 3:00 PM

Connecting Oregon Lamprey with Oregonians

Nov 12, 2020 5:00 PM
Benjamin Clemens (ODFW)
Origins & Services

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.

Our Region

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.

meet the NBWC

our Team

Zachary (Zac) Mallon
Council Coordinator
Zachary (Zac) Mallon

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

William O. Russell
Vice Chair Board, Special projects development, Technical and Science Advisory Committee
William O. Russell

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.

Mark McLaughlin
Chair, Board of Directors
Mark McLaughlin

Mark initially became involved with the Council back in 2005, and has served as Board Chair since 2015. Mark has worked as a watershed researcher and analyst, salmon biologist, commercial salmon fisherman, and law clerk on a number of environmental and conservation policy issues around the world. Marks holds a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science from Oregon State University; a Juris Doctor with certificates in environmental and natural resources law, ocean and coastal law, and international law from the University of Oregon; and a Master's of Education in STEM from American College of Education. Mark currently teaches a variety of science classes, including a watershed science class he created, at Neah-Kah-Nie High School in Rockaway Beach, as well as dual college credit biology, oceanography, and geology classes in collaboration with Tillamook Bay Community College. Mark also serves on the board of Coast Kids, which is a local nonprofit that provides resources and opportunities to children in North Tillamook County. 

Mark grew up on the north coast of Oregon, and after completing his studies and voyaging to nearly two dozen countries around the world, was ultimately drawn back to his natal soil. Mark enjoys surfing, traveling, and spending time outdoors, especially with his fiancee, Kate, and their adventurous, young daughter Kaila. 

David Dougherty
Watershed Explorer
David Dougherty

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.