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Nehalem Bay Watershed Council reports growth to $780,000 in 2025 and outlines restoration projects
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Summary
Zach Mallon, executive director of the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council, said the council doubled its scale in 2025 to about $780,000 in income and expenses, and reviewed projects including engineered log jams at the Salmonberry River confluence, culvert replacements opening more than 2 miles of coho habitat, and a 41-structure wood-placement project on God's Valley Creek.
Zach Mallon, executive director of the Nehalem Bay Watershed Council, presented the council’s 2025 end-of-year review and outlined several restoration projects planned for the coming years.
Mallon said the council’s income and expenses roughly doubled from 2024 to 2025 — from about $360,000 to roughly $780,000 — as the group moved to larger design and implementation work. He said roughly 84% of 2025 expenses could be directly attributed to habitat restoration, with the remainder covering administration and nonprofit compliance.
Among projects Mallon highlighted was a Salmonberry River confluence "thermal refugia" design that will install engineered log jams to create cool-water habitat complexity for juvenile salmonids; partners and funders include the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Department of Forestry, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), Wild Salmon Center, NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Mallon said the Salmonberry project is scheduled for construction this summer.
Mallon also described culvert-replacement projects, including McPherson Creek (planned for this summer) and Harless Creek (planned for 2027), that together will open a little more than 2 miles of coho spawning and rearing habitat. He described the God’s Valley Creek enhancement — 41 large-wood structures across about 2.3 miles — and said the effort created pools and spawning gravels important for juvenile fish.
Commissioners asked whether recent high rains affected projects; Mallon said the large logs used in placements helped structures weather storms and that some culverts were already partly blocked by wood and gravel, reinforcing the need for replacements. He described common construction methods (excavator placement and selective tree felling) and said teams replant disturbed areas after installation.
Mallon closed by noting the council’s heavy reliance on partnerships and grant funding and asking commissioners to stay engaged on permitting, road-access coordination and funding opportunities as projects move toward construction.
