Johnson Creek Watershed Council
We’re a Community.
Our Mission
To promote restoration and stewardship of a healthy Johnson Creek Watershed through sound science and community engagement.
Our Values
We strive to make our programs and community engagement efforts serve all residents of the watershed. We are devoted to doing our part to heal the legacy of systemic racism and inequality by enriching the lives of all people who touch Johnson Creek Watershed.
Annual Report & Financials
We are accountable to our community, and we strive for efficiency and transparency because we want to maximize our impact and make the watershed a model for other efforts to improve the ecological function of urban and rural habitats. Our Annual Reports demonstrate our effectiveness and highlight the difference your donations can make.
Our Newsletter
We print a newsletter two to three times a year to catch you up on events in the watershed. Watch for it in your mailbox!
Subscribe to our E-newsletter!
What is a watershed council?
Watershed Councils are grassroots community groups comprised of citizens who want to help protect, restore and enhance the local watershed where they live, work, and play. They are locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory organizations, and are intended to be broadly representative of the stakeholders in their respective areas.
A watershed council is “…a voluntary local organization designated by a local government group convened by a county governing body to address the goal of sustaining natural resource and watershed protection and enhancement within a watershed” according to the 1995 Oregon legislature. An important point with that definition is that designation of a watershed council is a local government decision for which no state approval is required. And although watershed councils are designated by local government entities, they are not government entities.
The Johnson Creek Watershed Council is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, although not all watershed councils are. A portion of our funding comes from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). OWEB is a small state agency created by the legislature and funded principally with state lottery funds and federal pacific salmon and coastal recovery funds to implement the programs and policies of the Oregon Plan.
The Oregon Plan is a comprehensive program for the protection and recovery of species and for the restoration of watersheds throughout this state. The Oregon Plan combines regulatory and other actions of state and federal agencies and local governments with voluntary restoration by private landowners and community members.
The History of the JCWC
The Johnson Creek Watershed Council started as a grassroot effort in the 1980s when friends – known as the Johnson Creek Marching Band – began to advocate on the watershed’s behalf.
