For over a decade, WRC has been working with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to acquire and conserve some of the Willamette Valley’s best unprotected habitat for salmon, steelhead and other wildlife. In 2015, we conserved 429 acres along 2.5 miles of the lower river, including healthy bottomland deciduous forests and side-channel habitat critical for spawning salmon. We transferred these lands to the tribe, which renamed them Chahalpam, meaning “place of the Santiam Kalapuya people,” who were the area’s original inhabitants. Upstream, we expanded on this success in 2016 when we bought a 411-acre farm to conserve three more miles of the river. The tribe renamed those lands Chankawan, meaning “place of salmon.” Together, our efforts are protecting some of the most productive habitat for salmon and steelhead in the entire Willamette basin, along with valuable wetlands and forests that shelter imperiled animals like western pond turtle, red-legged frog and Oregon chub.
