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What's at Stake?

With 330 miles of fish-bearing streams, the Tillamook Rainforest supports important salmon runs (coho, chum, and spring and fall chinook) as well as summer and winter steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout. While most of these fish populations have declined sharply, the Tillamook still boasts six of the healthiest runs of wild fall chinook in the lower 48 states and the healthiest population of winter steelhead on the north Oregon coast.

Many mammals (elk, deer, black bear, cougar), birds, amphibians and reptiles make their home in the Tillamook. Forty species are considered potentially sensitive by the state of Oregon. Threatened and endangered species living in the forest currently include the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet and bald eagle.

The Tillamook encompasses the only intact watershed on the north coast of Oregon, providing clean drinking water for 500,000 Oregonians. The water quality of the Tillamook's five major rivers and thousands of tributaries is important to coastal communities, fisheries and inland communities alike. For example, the Trask-Tualatin river system provides water to the cities of Beaverton, Tualatin, Hillsboro and Forest Grove. High-tech industries in the area depend on the abundant water from the forest.

For more information about the Sierra Club's Lewis and Clark campaign or to find out how you can help, contact lewisandclark@sierraclub.org.