Council Misson

The Nehalem watershed sits in the northwest corner of Oregon.  Its eastern boundary is only a short drive from Portland.

The river is the longest river in the Oregon Coast Range, flowing 105 miles from its source.
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The Nehalem River and its tributaries form a watershed of 855 square miles.

Watershed councils are locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory groups established to improve the condition of watersheds in their local area.  

They are required to represent the interests in the basin and be balanced in their makeup. Watershed councils offer local residents the opportunity to independently evaluate watershed conditions and identify opportunities to restore or enhance the conditions.

Through the councils, partnerships between residents, local, state and federal agency staff and other groups can be developed.

The Lower Nehalem Watershed:
• Covers 310 square miles
• Receives between 100 and 200 inches of rain each year.
• Is managed primarily for timber production. 
• Fifty two percent of the land is owned by the State of Oregon and managed by the Oregon Department of Forestry.  Private Timber companies own 31.6 percent of the land and the remaining 16.4% is farmland or zoned for urban & rural development.
• Includes the Nehalem estuary, and four fifth field watersheds: Cook Creek, North Fork Nehalem, Salmonberry, and Mid Nehalem