The Williams Creek Watershed Council

The Williams Creek Watershed Council (WCWC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, formed in 1996 under the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Plan for the State of Oregon. We are an advisory body with the purpose of bringing residents, government agencies and other organizations together to address local watershed management issues.

Our Board of Directors represents the diverse interests of our community. It shares a common and active interest in promoting our mission, which is to “restore and protect the natural diversity of the Williams Creek Watershed…[and] to protect all natural ecosystems, so they can survive and flourish to the benefit of all who reside within”. Our council encourages a voluntary approach to ecological restoration, conservation, and stewardship of the Williams Creek Watershed.

The Williams Creek Watershed encompasses 52,000 acres, including approximately 3000 people in the unincorporated rural community of Williams. Williams Creek is one of the largest tributaries to the Applegate River, and has some of the best native fish habitat in the Rogue Basin. Our watershed contains spawning grounds of several species of anadromous fish, including coho, steelhead and chinook salmon, Pacific lamprey as well resident cutthroat trout. Over 150 miles of potential fish habitat exist in Williams Creek and its tributaries, including five miles of ‘core’ coho habitat, one of only three such areas in the greater Applegate watershed. Baseline monitoring data indicates that the Williams Creek watershed has some of the highest potential for restoring healthy salmon runs in the Applegate River system.

In 2000 the WCWC conducted the Williams Creek Watershed Assessment and, from that, developed an Action Plan that identifies and prioritizes restoration needs and conservation opportunities within the watershed. Working with landowners and natural resources agency representatives, we continue to develop, design and implement successful “on-the-ground” watershed restoration projects. Our education and outreach activities promote public awareness within the Williams community regarding watershed health, and provide community members with opportunities and tools to improve and maintain it. Strong community participation, volunteer efforts, and partnerships with landowners, agencies and interested groups all contribute to the success of Watershed Council projects.