The Willow Creek and Trout Creek Watershed Councils were formed as separate watershed councils in the 1990s.

Each council engaged with the community to understand the factors contributing to declining fish populations, degraded stream and upland habitats, and poor water quality.

​

​In 2015, those councils joined to create the Middle Deschutes Watershed Council. This provides an efficient organizational framework and coordinated approach for supporting restoration and other activities within the broader Trout Creek and Willow Creek Watersheds, which each play a critical role in maintaining and restoring Deschutes River Basin’s fish and wildlife populations, water quality, and stream and upland habitats.