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Our Work

 

TWC is dedicated to the protection and restoration of Oregon’s greatest wetlands. Nationally, 35 percent of all rare and endangered species depend on wetlands. As wetland habitat is destroyed, the number of species threatened with extinction increases. Gone are many of the species that inhabited these lost wetlands. This elevates the importance of the remaining wetlands. Working with local communities, including public and private sector partners, we have conserved some of Oregon’s greatest wetlands within Yaquina Estuary, Beaver Creek, Alsea Estuary, Closed Lakes Basin and the Willamette Valley. TWC owns and stewards 32 preserves that include more than 1500 acres across Oregon.


Stories of Conservation

Water quality project by our international volunteer, Ana Blandon

This past Saturday marks the close of a wonderful partnership with Mount Hood Community College’s SEED (Scholarships for Education and Economic Development) program.  The students from this program have volunteered at our Gresham…

Native planting season has launched!

February 7, 2015 was our very first planting day of the year!  We partnered with the City of Tualatin for a great productive work day.  About 400 live stakes of red osier…

Spring amphibian surveys are underway!

This spring, with the help of amphibian expert Katie Holzer, our urban land stewards Megan and Kaegan have launched an amphibian survey program to monitor amphibian populations on six of…

LightHawk Volunteer Pilot Tony Carson Flies for 2014 King Tide Project

This year the December King Tide (highest tides of the year) followed several days of big storms. On December 22, TWC GIS Analyst John Bauer, Photographer Ben Friedle and LightHawk…

King Tides

It was a cloudy/hazy day and the Dec 22, 2014 king tide mission was nearly aborted, but the clouds broke through and TWC staff John Bauer, photographer Ben Friedle of…

King Tide video of Yaquina Estuary

The king tide is the highest tide of the year, this year occurring in late December. Check out our video that compares the Yaquina Estuary on an average day and…

TWC Launches Urban Preserve Report Card Project

Last spring a beaver dam at our Hedges Creek Preserve (Tualatin) was breached by vandals, resulting in water levels dropping by a few feet in the beaver pond above.

Amphibians in the City

Amphibians are a key indicator species of ecosystem health. Their presence or absence can tell us a lot about the general health of a wetland or riparian area in addition to giving us a sense of site water and habitat quality. When climatic and hydrologic changes occur in an ecosystem, amphibians are often the first to react. Their thin skin makes them vulnerable to temperature increases, chemical pollutants, disease, and radiation. The combinations of pollutants, habitat fragmentation and development in urban areas have had a negative impact on amphibian populations. In the Portland Metro area, everything from mutations of extra legs to complete absence of native amphibians has been documented.

Light in the Forest: Poole Slough

TWC is improving forest health and wildlife habitat quality of the forest lands of our Upper Yaquina Preserve, in Poole Slough, Newport Oregon. This exciting project that began in June…

Featured Oregon Greatest Wetland

The Darlingtonia State Natural Site, situated just north of Florence, Oregon, is the “smallest” of our greatest wetlands but definitely memorable. In fact, John Bauer, TWC GIS Specialist, remembers this…