April is when our advocacy, restoration, and river experiences work comes together, and - coming off a legislative session where we experienced success in our three priority bills, and a restoration season where we added 15 Crew Leaders to our ranks - this felt particularly pronounced in 2026, as we paddled our winter momentum into an incredible Earth Month celebration. The month began on an unexpected note, as we joined the Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge to rally 100 residents and supporters to attend an open house to express opposition to a project proposing high voltage power lines across the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge.
These residents expressed a passion for protecting what they love, and our Earth Month was a celebration of the watershed we all love and strive to protect. At our second annual Earth Day Fair at the TRK office along the Tualatin River, dozens of residents visited with a handful of our partners, explored the Tualatin River in bimarans, and helped restore the beautiful piece of property that we’re so fortunate to tend. Most of our visitors left with hand built bird boxes and beautiful native plants, with a goal of extending native habitat in their own yards. Earth Month ended with our inaugural Watershed Science Symposium at PCC’s Rock Creek campus. Our incredible partners presented on a host of science-related topics, including the use of eDNA, impacts of emerald ash borer, and beaver restoration in our watershed.
And back to the theme of protecting what we love, our trips to Ki-a-cuts Falls in the Coast Range and rafting the Lower Tualatin River - among other guided outings on and along the river - served as an opportunity to further connect residents, lawmakers, and partners to this watershed we work so hard to protect.
9 new Watershed Ambassadors and 13 Paddle Team volunteers trained
Connected with 900 community members, including 550 youth, at 6 public events
Spoke to 240 community members at data center forums, and submitted 5 comment letters on watershed-related issues
Sold 38 kayaks, canoes and paddleboards at our annual Boat Sale
