North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection has had a year of speaking truth to power. We’ve been advocating, learning and growing.
We’d like to invite you to attend our upcoming in-person meeting about the current status and future of the Jetty Creek watershed, the source of surface drinking water for the City of Rockaway Beach, Oregon. This meeting will take place on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Mary by the Sea Catholic Church; 275 S. Pacific St.; Rockaway Beach, OR 97136. (Please note that this is the revised date for the meeting. A Zoom link will be available, should in-person attendance be inconvenient for you.) Light refreshments will be available.
(While it is not necessary to RSVP in order to attend, it would be helpful so we can approximate the number of participants.) You can RSVP here.
While it is anticipated that this meeting will be of particular interest to those who drink water that comes from Jetty Creek, anyone interested in drinking watershed issues is more than welcome to attend. Since in the near future, there may be changes in the management and ownership of the Jetty Creek watershed, NCCWP would like to engage the public in this critically important dialogue. If you drink the water, you’ll learn why you should care about the future of that watershed.
The featured speaker at this event will be Chuck Willer, the longtime director of the Coast Range Association, a grassroots organization. He said, “I’ll be there to contribute whatever I know about watershed protection, purchasing forestland, and conservation easements.” Chuck is committed to forest reform and forming community forest organizations. He has worked on a number of grassroots efforts regarding forest water issues at the Oregon Coast. Chuck will lead a discussion about safeguarding and protecting drinking water sources, as well as the importance of community ownership and management of drinking watersheds that is based on local, democratic control. The program will conclude with ideas about how people can get involved in protecting their drinking watershed.
During the meeting, NCCWP will provide updates about the current status of the Jetty Creek watershed, in addition to providing background on various types of watershed ownership and management. While participating in this conversation about Jetty Creek, you will get to hear from your friends and neighbors, as well as experts in the field of water resource management and watershed health.
NCCWP urges any interested and qualified persons to apply for the SWP Plan Development Advisory Committee. (More information about the application process should be available on the City’s website following the approval of the resolution.)
Jetty Creek gets national attention:
You might enjoy the following recent article about Jetty Creek from Sierra, The Magazine of the Sierra Club. (Thanks to Nathan Gilles, Science Writer, for writing this story.) Here is the link: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/oregon-s-drinking-water-risk-clearcutting
For example, here’s a link to our most recent event featuring noted forester Herb Hammond. You can view his presentation here: https://vimeo.com/899048616?share=copy
In other news:
Plan on attending the NCCWP Forest Poets Event at Fort George Brewery in Astoria on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Join us for a night of food, drinks, and poetry reading pertaining to our North Coast watersheds and forests. More details soon to follow in an email.
As a matter of necessity and regardless of land ownership, NCCWP demands no more logging and no more pesticide spraying within our drinking-watersheds. Safe drinking water and clean air are part of the public trust that we all are entitled to have. Please help North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection safeguard and restore our drinking watersheds.
healthywatershed.org | www.facebook.com/NCCWATERSHEDPROTECTION
