In 1990, the USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the USDA Forest Service began to discuss a potential interpretive facility and education program centering on healthy watersheds and fisheries. The idea soon attracted the interest of Wolftree Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing science-oriented natural resource programs to underserved populations. The idea for Cascade Streamwatch was born.

The biggest challenge was finding a suitable site close to Portland, Oregon that could provide safe, accessible facilities for users. The BLM Wildwood Recreation Site, located on the Salmon River 39 miles east of Portland, proved to be the perfect spot. The Salmon River, rising from the snow and ice of Mt Hood, is a federally-designated Wild and Scenic River which harbors several species of salmon and trout. Wolftree developed and tested an extensive science-based education program, including teaching materials and in-service training for teachers.

Today, visitors can learn about terrestrial and aquatic habitats as part of an innovative watershed ecology program. Its most unique feature is an accessible in-stream viewing window where visitors can see native northwest salmon and steelhead living in their natural habitat. Students, with help from private and public natural resource specialists, make observations, develop hypotheses, investigate aquatic and terrestrial systems to test their hypotheses, and present their conclusions.

USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM), USDA Forest Service, and Wolftree Inc., a non-profit educational organization.

Cascade Streamwatch, now 15 years old, has become one of the most successful outdoor educational sites in the Northwest, hosting more than 80,000 visitors to Wildwood and Cascade Streamwatch each year. More than 10,000 students and adults participate in Wolftree’s programs or in other school programs, educational events, and tours.

Wolftree has been an invaluable partner in building awareness and support for Cascade Streamwatch in the diverse communities it serves. Just a few of the private and public supporters are: the City of Portland Water Bureau, Jackson Foundation, Kelly Foundation, Merrill Lynch and Co. Foundation, Metro Greenspaces, Northwest Natural, Trout Unlimited, Oregon Community Foundation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Clackamas County, Portland General Electric, Portland State University, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Weyerhaeuser Company, Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Templeton Foundation, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

Wolftree and its partners were recently honored by the Superintendent of Portland Public Schools. In 2005, Portland State University presented Wolftree with a Civic Engagement Award for excellence in partnerships for student learning.