"Watershed Management is Important to Our Natural Resources"
"Restoring Local Habitats Important to Our Watershed"
"Community Efforts to Improve & Protect Our Watershed"
"Working to Improve & Protect Our Natural Resources"
"Volunteers Improving Watershed for Our Streams & Rivers"
"Responsible Stewardship of Our Natural Resources"
"Helping With Weed Control to Improve Our Watershed"
"Protecting Streams and Rivers for Fish and Wildlife"
"Local Volunteers Acting to Facilitate Watershed Restoration"
"Enjoying Our Natural Resources is Important to All"
"Enhancing Our Natural Resources"
"The Beauty of the Oak Savanna in Spring"
"Children and Bugs - Our Best Natural Resources!"
"Public Events Raise Awareness of Our Natural Resources"

The Glenn and Gibson Creeks Watershed Council of West Salem

 Our Mission: to foster better understanding and stewardship of watershed resources


Our Purpose

The Glenn-Gibson Watershed Council is a local volunteer organization (non-governmental) with membership open to all. Our purpose is to share information, reduce duplication of activities and to help address watershed management issues in the watershed and  provide a framework for coordination and cooperation among key interests.

Our History

Glenn and Gibson Creeks Watershed Council formed in 1996 in response to concerns from the 1996 Willamette River flood. The Council was recognized by Polk County and the City of Salem in 1998. Since that time, a watershed assessment has been completed, work plans organized, and projects are moving forward. Our goal remains to engage every resident in the watershed to become informed and active in watershed health.

 


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You Are Invited!

 As a local volunteer organization (non-governmental), Glenn-Gibson Watershed Council membership is open to all. If you are a person who cares about the ecological and economic health of our community streams and rivers, please consider joining us at a council meeting to learn more.


Our Vision

Vision: a balanced ecosystem that supports a healthy watershed and provides for an economic base and viable communities.

Our Advocacy

Glenn and Gibson Creeks Watershed Council advocates for watershed health through involvement in the community planning and development process, working with the City of Salem and Polk County to ensure that land use, planning and development practices are carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner. 

Our Meetings

We're meeting by Zoom on the second Tuesday of every month from 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm. Email bierlykenneth@gmail.com to request a link to the Zoom meeting. Anyone interested in watershed issues is invited to attend.

More About Our Work

Hover over photos for details

Some of Our Valuable Partners

We are fortunate to count among our partners a wide variety of governmental and civic organizations.
Talk to us about partnering with the Glenn-Gibson Watershed Council

Our partners include:

  • Polk County
  • City of Salem
  • West Salem Neighborhood Association
  • Salem-Keizer Schools
  • Salem Audubon Society
  • Salemtowne


  • Salem Electric
  • Friends of West Salem Watersheds
  • Rickreall Watershed Council
  • Spring Valley Watershed Council
  • Luckiamute Watershed Council
  • Polk Soil and Water Conservation District
Important Information

Goldcrest Brook: A Case for Stormwater Management

Presentation by Peter Dalrymple

 Mr. Dalrymple presented information learned from the City of Salem’s study of the rapid and extensive erosion along Goldcrest Brook, a tributary of Glenn Creek. The City became engaged in this study in 2018, when streamside landowners along Goldcrest Brook reported rapid bank erosion.  View  Goldcrest Brook / Dalrymple PDF

The presentation included an explanation of hydromodification (a blanket term for how alterations in land use change the hydrologic characteristics of streams), the study’s look at changes in Goldcrest Brook over time including development in the watershed, impacts of the development, ongoing monitoring of the stream channel and flows, and possibilities for minimizing the impacts of development going forward.

Consultants are at work creating a model to help better understand hydromodification and how to create rigorous stormwater design standards to better protect stream channel integrity, water quality, aquatic life and streamside property. Riparian buffers, access corridors and good utility data are all part of the solution to protecting streams through the process of development in the watershed. Since restoration of these streams is difficult, protection is important.

Together We Make a Difference . . .

Community Volunteers & Partners Can Do So Much!

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