Pudding River Watershed Council

PO Box 242
Aurora, OR 97002-0242 U.S.A.
503.422.2844

Staffing services for the Council are provided by:

Cascadia Planners, LLC
Jamison Cavallaro
Program Manager
cavallaro@cascadiaplanners.com

Bulletin Board - News and Events

Organizational Overview

Pudding River Watershed:

The Pudding River, in the eastern region of the Willamette Basin, covers 531 square miles. Agriculture is the predominant land use in the drainage basin, and water from the basin is mainly used for agricultural production. There are eight major subbasins that drain into the Pudding River. These include Silver Ck, Zollner Ck, Abiqua Ck, Butte Ck, Drift Ck, Little Pudding River, Rock Creek, and the Senecal / Mill Creek drainage area.

Purpose of Watershed Council:

The Pudding River Watershed Council was formed to help address issues in the Pudding River Watershed and provide a framework for education, coordination, and cooperation among all interests in the development and promotion of a watershed action plan.

Mission:

The Pudding River Watershed Council will provide opportunities for those who live, work, play, and derive benefits from the Pudding River Watershed to cooperate in promoting the health of the watershed and the social and economic benefits to the communities, and to protect and enhance the environmental, historical, and cultural aspects of the watershed.

Vision:

A sustainable, healthy Watershed.

Funding:

Many ongoing activities of the council are funded by grants from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. We also enlist support of cities and counties within the watershed, as well as agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Dept. of Forestry. Another long-time supporter and benefactor is the Marion Soil and Water Conservation District. The Pudding River Watershed is a member of the Salem Keizer Urban Watersheds Association, a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit Corporation, and as such, can take tax-exempt individual donations from private individuals.

Projects:

We are part of a volunteer water quality monitoring project in the basin and support local groups or schools to do monitoring. Volunteers are encouraged to take on a monthly sampling station near you. To see a watershed map or look at trends in water quality data, please visit our link to the Watershed Assessment, especially the Water Quality Component.

River Cleanup Events:

We organize two cleanup events a year near Mt. Angel on the Pudding River to clean up litter from the stream and adjacent roadways. SOLV, Salem Pepsi Bottling, Kennedy HS, Scotts Mills Market, Roths Family Market of Silverton have been supporters. The Pudding River WC is also partners in an annual cleanup along Silver Creek through Silverton with Coldwell Banker Realty.

Assessment:

We are working to complete a Watershed Assessment of the Pudding River to determine the state of fish and wildlife populations and the health of the system and to identify areas where more data is needed and where restoration efforts would be most effective. Volunteer opportunities exist to contribute fish and wildlife information, especially to the Historic component. Other volunteer opportunities relating to the Watershed Assessment are checking culverts for fish passability, and ground-truthing riparian or stream habitat conditions.

Streamside Planting Events:

Volunteers help every year at local restoration sites to plant native trees and remove invasive ivy or other weeds. We probably have a spring or fall planting event near you on a local stream that you could help out at!

Pudding Watershed Assessment

Chapter 3 Maps

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Pudding Watershed Related Links

Pudding Watershed Council - Open.Org Web Site

Willamette Subbasin Plan

Salem Watershed Councils
City of Salem Natural Resources
Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District

Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District
Yamhill County Soil and Water Conservation District
Benton County Soil and Water Conservation District

Luckiamute Watershed Council Homepage

Rickreall Watershed Council Homepage
Marys River Watershed Council

OWEB Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board

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The Pudding River is home to native cutthroat trout, Spring Chinook Salmon and winter Steelhead.	Students and volunteers at Waypark Road annual Cleanup.
Over 20 signs in east Salem and Marion County were made available by a grant from the City of Salem Public Works Department to help identify the Pudding River Watershed Boundary to the public.	Students from Silverton High School testing basic water quality.
Students get ready to spread mulch and plant trees at a project on Woods Creek near Lake Labish.	Illegal dumping is a problem in the watershed. This was a cleanup near Gallon House Road with Silverton area Girl Scouts.
Volunteers help plant Spring, ’05 along Silver Creek.	On-going Ivy Removal efforts in the watershed help raise public awareness of the problems associated with invasive weeds and help to restore ecological function to riparian forests.

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Contact Information:

Stephen B. Taylor, Ph.D.
Earth and Physical Sciences Department
Western Oregon University
345 N. Monmouth Ave.
Monmouth, Oregon 97361

Office: Natural Science, NS 210
Phone:  503-838-8398 (Office)
Fax:  503-838-8072 (Office)
E-mail: taylors@wou.edu
Web Page: www.wou.edu/taylor

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