Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
A partnership to save vital fish and wildlife habitat along the North Santiam River, in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
WRC and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have been working together on Oregon rivers for more than a decade. In the Willamette Valley, we conserved the most significant assemblages of intact fish and wildlife habitat remaining along the lower North Santiam River. Between 2013 and 2015, we transferred 429 acres of culturally important lands to the tribe, which renamed them Chahalpam, meaning “place of the Santiam Kalapuya people.” Then, in 2016, WRC and the Grand Ronde repatriated an additional 411 acres to the tribe, conserving three more miles of the North Santiam. The Grand Ronde renamed the lands Chankawan, meaning “place of salmon.” Read more about Chahalpam and Chankawan here.
