Office of Chehalis Basin

Besides forming the Office of Chehalis Basin, the Legislature also established the Chehalis Basin Board to provide long-term oversight of the strategy. The board is responsible for developing budget recommendations to the Governor’s office to implement the strategy. The Office of Chehalis Basin provides support to the board.

The seven-member board typically meets monthly. Members represent the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and Quinault Indian Nation, as well as agricultural, environmental, and economic interests in the basin. There are also five non-voting board members representing various state agencies. Visit the Chehalis Basin Board's webpage for more information about board meetings and members.

2022 Chehalis Basin Board meetings

Upcoming meeting (Please note: Zoom link will only activate on meeting date) 

• Feb. 3, 2022, online meeting

* Meeting materials: Additional meeting materials are posted on Chehalis Basin Board ezView webpage. 

Helping reduce flood damage, restore aquatic habitat

Covering nearly 2,700 square miles of southwest Washington, the Chehalis River basin is at a turning point. For decades, peak seasonal flood levels have been rising — with five of the basin's largest historical floods occurring during the last 30 years.

Besides the 125 mile-long Chehalis River which drains to the Grays Harbor estuary on the Pacific Coast, the Chehalis Basin also includes the Black, Elk, Hoquiam, Humptulips, Johns, Newaukum, Satsop, Skookumchuck, Wishkah, and Wynoochee rivers, and their tributary streams.

Due to climate change, we expect the trend of larger, more frequent flooding in the basin to continue.

Chehalis Basin home to array of important habitats

The state's second largest river system is uniquely fertile and abundant. The Chehalis River Basin is one of the few major river basins in Washington without any federally-listed endangered salmon. The Chehalis Basin also has the highest diversity of amphibian species anywhere in the state and supports various fish species including salmon, trout, lamprey, and the Olympic mudminnow.

However, the basin's ability to support some types of fish has decreased by as much as 80 percent. Poor returns have significantly limited harvests for tribal and non-tribal fisheries. If aquatic habitat in the basin does not improve, some salmon species could become endangered.