Stewardship

In a recent year, we’ve removed over 52,000 square feet of invasive plants, restored the habitat of 5,400 linear feet of stream banks, and installed over 11,000 native plants.

In 2018, the Council adopted a five-year Stewardship Action Plan to focus efforts on improving biological corridors and engaging industrial landowners and community members in the enhancement of important natural area buffers.

Habitat Restoration

In our heavily urbanized watershed, enhancing native habitat is critical to improving climate resilience, water quality, and biodiversity. We work with public and private landowners throughout our watershed to expand and diversify native plant populations to create a healthy Columbia Slough for people, wildlife and plants alike.

Interested in getting your hands dirty for a good cause? Visit our Volunteer Page to learn how you can join our next Stewardship Saturday work party and help enhance habitat in the Columbia Slough Watershed

Kirk Fatland_planting at Wilkes Creek Headwaters.JPG

Green Workforce Development

We partner with green workforce development organizations on a large portion of our projects, collaborating across every phase from design through implementation.

We work with other nonprofits that mentor, train, and employ people of color and low-income community members in environmental careers, including habitat enhancement and engineering. This process helps adults gain living-wage jobs and youth acquire skills and connections to prepare them for professions in the environmental sector.

Healthy Industrial Lands Initiative

CSWC’s Healthy Industrial Lands Initiative works with private landowners in the watershed to help manage and improve riparian areas. We use grant funds to provide free restoration projects on land that is typically out of reach. The HILI program develops a new restoration model for a highly industrialized watershed.

The HILI was developed by a steering committee of diverse stakeholders, with representatives from government, businesses, and community groups. We have identified many potential sites to conduct restoration and are currently in the implementation phase.

Sites and partners include: Level Beer, Little 4 Corners (includes nearly 40 properties), Ash Creek Forest Management, Mosaic Ecology, UFSWQD (Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District), BES (Bureau of Environmental Services), Portland Parks and Recreation, Northwest Youth Corps, Multnomah Youth Cooperative, Verde, Port of Portland, Bird Alliance of Oregon, Friends of Trees, and more!

Getting Involved

Are you a private landowner in the Columbia Slough Watershed who would like to work with this program to improve riparian habitat? Reach out to Stewardship Director Caitlin Costello to discuss.