Brookings, OR – Southwestern Oregon Community College Curry Campus invites the community to join us on Thursday, March 12, 2026, 1:00 to 2:00 pm for the next installment in our Speaker Series: Salmon Habitat Restoration.
This talk is a presentation by the Curry Watershed Partnership, which is actively involved in salmon habitat restoration efforts, particularly focusing on the recovery of coho populations. They have been instrumental in hundreds of projects aimed at enhancing salmon habitat and improving fish passage in Southern Oregon coastal watersheds.
Fish and wildlife populations depend upon healthy ecosystems for their survival and have evolved over millennia in response to a full range of watershed changes. Human communities have impacts on these ecosystems and have a responsibility to help restore balance to the watershed processes and functions.
The Curry Watershed Partnership is a group of non-regulatory organizations working together to help local landowners and communities keep our shared lands and rivers healthy and sustainable. The Partnership includes the Curry Soil and Water Conservation District, the South Coast and Lower Rogue Watershed Councils, and the Curry Watersheds Nonprofit.
Guest Speakers include Kelly Timchak, Robbie Lascheck, and Liesl Coleman, who will share the Partnership’s work on restoration and education efforts in Curry County.
Kelly Timchak always knew she wanted to work in creeks and rivers. She previously worked for the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Science in Fisheries from the University of New Brunswick. Kelly focuses on developing and maintaining landowner relations to assess and restore upland habitats, instream fish habitats, estuaries, and riparian health. She is the Lower Rogue Watershed Coordinator.
Robbie Lascheck has a passion for mountain lakes and crystal-clear rivers. He received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Oregon and a Master of Environmental Management from Portland State University. His skill set includes partner coordination, natural resource monitoring, data analysis, and GIS. He is the South Coast Watershed Council Coordinator.
Liesl Coleman has loved the natural world since she can remember. She has worked for the Curry County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) since 2004 and has served as the District Manager since 2009. Under the direction of the Curry SWCD board of directors, Liesl works primarily behind the scenes, supervising all staff, overseeing legal and fiscal functions and activities, ensuring compliance with state and federal requirements and board-approved policies, and serving with Kelly Timchak and Robbie Lascheck on the Partnership’s Leadership Team to coordinate program direction.
Please join us to find out how to not only support the work of the Curry Watershed Partnership, but how to become a watershed steward yourself. It will take many more of us to maintain the health and function of our shared lands and waters, now and into the future.
This is a free program sponsored by the Friends of Curry Campus and will be held in the Community Room on Southwestern’s Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway (off Highway 101), Brookings. Bring a friend and a brown bag lunch.
Stay tuned for upcoming talks in our speaker series. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
