Chehalis River Council
417 N. Pearl Street, Centralia, WA 98531
(360) 807-0764
to promote the conservation and restoration of the greater Chehalis River Basin resources
Volunteer Monitoring Where do We Monitor?
We currently monitor water quality at four sites in the Upper Chehalis Basin:
Elk Creek has a drainage area of about 40 square miles, and enters the Chehalis River at Doty. The upper watershed is owned primarily by Weyerhaueser, Inc. and is operated as an industrial tree farm. The riparian zone at the site is heavily disturbed and is dominated by reed canary grass. The site is accessed from the county bridge near Dokter Road on Elk Creek Road.
The South Fork Chehalis River has a drainage area of about 48 square miles, and includes Stillman Creek and Lost Valley Creek. The river flows through the Boistfort Valley, which contains the largest concentration of Class A agriculture land in Lewis County. This site is located directly across from Boistfort School, and is used by 5th and 6th grade students in the CBEC water quality program. The site is accessed from the county bridge on Boistfort Road.
The Middle Fork Newaukum site is located on
private land near Tauscher Road. This river represents the typical large- scale
mosaic of land uses that exist in the upper Chehalis Basin. The landowner has
given permission for access to the site, and is a volunteer in our program.
The South Fork Newaukum site is located off of Pigeon Road, about 2 miles from the intersection of Pigeon Road with Centralia-Alpha Road. Land use upstream is primarily industrial forestry, similar to the Elk Creek site. Unlike the Elk Creek site, the riparian corridor is in excellent condition, with a dense, multi-aged stand of conifers and deciduous trees.
Contact us if you are interested in volunteering or hearing more about this project