Each month, Thurston Community Media (TCMedia)’s Mission Nonprofit connects with local organizations and agencies that positively impact our communities. In November 2024, Mission Nonprofit host Deborah Vinsel sat down with Justin Hall, executive director of the Nisqually River Foundation.
Since the late 1980s, the Nisqually River Council – created by the legislature – has worked to protect the Nisqually Watershed while balancing “the rights of private landowners, statewide public interests, access to the river, tribal fishing rights, and protection and recovery for fish and wildlife species,” according to their website. It’s the oldest watershed council in the Western United States.
“A watershed is the entire area of land that if a drop of water falls on it, it’ll eventually makes its way out [to] the bottom of the Nisqually River,” explains Hall. The Nisqually watershed starts at the top of Mount Rainier, goes through the glaciers, Alder Lake, Eatonville area, Joint Base Lewis McCord and finally through the Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. In total about 78 square miles.
This nonprofit supplies the staff and funding for the Nisqually River Council, which works to protect the Nisqually Watershed through the Nisqually Watershed Stewardship Plan. The seven board members, four full-time staff members and one Washington Service Corps volunteer work hard with partner organizations on their mission. “We have a Citizens Advisory Committee made up of really interested stakeholders that just have a passion for the watershed.” The Council and the Advisory Committee meet monthly.
“We’ve been around, like I said, for 35 plus years,” shares Hall. “We’ve worked on specific projects but really the true gem of the Nisqually River Council is its opportunity to talk monthly with the folks that are actually doing stuff on the ground, you know? So, if it’s a wildlife issue you have the WDFW wildlife biologist. If there’s something going on with the military, we have a Department of Defense JBLM representative. If it’s – you know – around power we have to come with the Public Utilities because they have two dams on the river. So, there’s just – it’s an opportunity – to really get to know each other, build a culture of trust that really helps when it comes to doing the big projects like the restoration of the Nisqually Watershed or the upcoming changes to I-5.”
One big project is the Nisqually River Education Project. This project partners with teachers and educators within the Nisqually Watershed to create student projects that inspire kids towards stewardship and environmentalism while teaching them the Washington State learning goals and standards.
The Nisqually Watershed Festival happens every September. It brings people together to celebrate community, culture and history at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
They also have the Nisqually Stream Stewards that puts on virtual and in-person events that educate about our local watersheds, help with restoration projects, lead youth environmental education activities and more. This is one of the area volunteers are needed!
For more information, watch the full video above or visit the Nisqually River Foundation website.
You can watch Mission Nonprofit on channel 22 on Sundays at 3:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 10 a.m. You can also watch on TCMedia website, Video On-Demand or our Roku channel. To learn more about what TCMedia does, visit the Thurston Community Media YouTube channel or the TC Media website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
