Our Mission
Together, we’re recovering wild salmon for future generations.
NSEA is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on reversing the trend of declining salmon runs in Whatcom County. We enhance river, creek, and riparian habitat while educating people of all ages to give Pacific salmon and steelhead the best chance at survival.
Engaging our community is the heart of the mission. Volunteers plant native trees and shrubs at Saturday work parties. Fourth graders study macroinvertebrates (the aquatic insects salmon eat) on Students for Salmon field trips. Landowners invite our crew onto their property to remove fish passage barriers. Together we do more.
Our belief
Salmon are essential to our environment, culture, and economy.
Our Vision
We’re rebuilding healthy watersheds that can sustain abundant salmon.
A healthy watershed is easy to recognize when you stand next to it. The water runs cold, clean, and clear. Native trees and shrubs shade the banks, keeping temperatures cool and the soil in place. Salmon move freely upstream to spawn, with no culverts or other fish passage barriers in the way. And the channel holds large woody debris (the root wads and whole trees that create resting pools and spawning habitat).
We picture that future for every creek in Whatcom County. The Nooksack is one of only three rivers in Washington where all five species of Pacific salmon return, and counting steelhead trout, six salmonid species call this watershed home. That abundance is worth protecting, and there is still much work to be done to secure it.
Our Values
Five values guide our work.
Integrity
We make our decisions based on what we believe is best for salmon. We are careful stewards of our human, natural, and financial resources.
Gratitude
The work we do is far too large to accomplish alone, and to be successful we need partnerships, resources, talent, volunteers, and community members. We share gratitude with each other and the community that supports our mission.
Differences
Differences are essential in ecology and society. We strive to preserve multi-faceted, interdependent ecological systems. We value different perspectives and strive to create opportunities that are welcoming to all.
Hopefulness
We inspire hope by restoring habitat, building an informed and dedicated community, and educating future generations.
Longevity
We manage NSEA for longevity so that we can uphold our commitment to recover salmon populations, recognizing that salmon recovery will take generations.
Since 1991
We have been at this for 35 years.
NSEA has been an active participant in salmon recovery since 1991. The mission has stayed the same through decades of work parties, field trips, and restoration projects.
Our Strategic Plan 2025-2030 maps out where the work goes next, and we publish it for anyone to read.
Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan 2025-2030
Our goals and priorities for the next five years.
Our Impact
35 years of results
Barriers removed, miles opened, trees planted, and students reached, all in one place.
For Funders
Reports & financials
Impact reports and IRS Form 990s for grantmakers and donors.
Get Involved
Come see the work for yourself.
Work parties run Saturday mornings from 9 am to noon in spring and fall, and we provide the tools, gloves, and training. Come plant trees with us!
Questions about NSEA? Email info@n-sea.org or call 360-715-0283.