Meadow Restoration at Silver Falls State Park

In 2025 we won a small grant to expand our meadow restoration work to the Cieslak Meadow and Elk Meadow at Silver Falls. The worked included removing small diameter firs and scotch broom. We also continued contracting directly with OPRD on speciality meadow work in front of the South Falls Lodge, and at the Camas Meadow. 

Community Hub – Aurora Mills Greenspace

We continued working at Aurora Mills on two separate but complimentary projects:

1. Pudding River Plant Plot – Our goal is to create a sustainable willow, cottonwood, and dogwood cutting block that community members can access. 
2. Creek Restoration Phase 2 – We’re maintaining plantings from 2020, as well as planting new trees and shrubs to try and reestablish a healthy streamside forest.  

Aamodt Dam Removal

Aamodt Dam on Rock Creek is our one of top 5 priority barriers in the watershed, and at the end of 2025 we received 60% engineering design plans (funded by an OWEB grant) to remove the structure, and we’re actively applying for implementation grants to remove the dam. This would be our first ever large fish passage barrier removal, and we’re hopeful that it would build momentum for other projects. 

Community Hub – Silver Creek

We extended our contract with the City of Silverton for until June of 2026, and kept doing transformative maintenance work along Silver Creek in the City of Silverton. The creek has never been more visible to the public, and our small native meadow is growing very happily. We’re now working on a plan to improve public access and trails along the creek. In the photo below, we’re cutting blackberry at the end of the Salamander Island trail. 

Scotts Mills Dam Removal Community Engagement – Wrapped Up

We finished our engagement grant on the Scotts Mills Dam without a clear path forward toward removal, which is a great disappointment to us and the community. We’ll maintain our relationships with the City of Scotts Mills and local leaders, and hope that soon the Marion County Commissioners realize that the dam is a public safety hazard and needs to be removed for the good of county residents.   

2020 Fire Recovery Work, Jan 2023 – Wrapped Up

We wrapped up work at all three fire recovery sites, and are feeling hopeful that all three are on the road to successful recovery. It was much more difficult to establish trees in burned areas than we had expected, and each of the sites faced different challenges. But we’re hopeful that the trees we planted were close to free to grow stage and will complete well without further maintenance. 

2026 Preview

We have a busy 2026 upcoming, and are especially excited for the following projects:

• Strategic Plan for Salmon – Starting our own pilot temperature monitoring program in the watershed, with a focus on Butte and Abiqua Creeks

• White Oak Hubs – Finishing our white oak hub management plan and applying for grants to improve oak habitat at the Mt. Angel Abbey, Corban U, the Oregon Gardens, and the Small Farm

• Continued Public Facing Work at Community Hubs – We’ve got projects lined up for Mill Creek in Woodburn, Silver Creek in Silverton, the Aurora Mills Greenspace, Cemetery Park in Molalla, and up at Silver Fall State Park. 

• PSP Outreach – We took on the Pesticide Stewardship Partnership program for the Pudding River, and are actively reaching out to landowners and local cities about pesticide use, especially with a concern about high Imidacloprid readings in Mill Creek. 

• Woodburn Ash Inventory – Mapping all of the ash trees in Woodburn to help the city respond to Emerald Ash Borer, which was found there in 2024.

All that and much more in on deck for 2026! Stay tuned for updates and join our email list to stay on top of news from the WC.