OCEAN PARK, Wash. – Tom Kollasch, manager of the Ellsworth Creek Preserve for The Nature Conservancy of Washington, will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Senior Activity Center in Klipsan Beach, Wash.

Attendees will learn about the conservancy’s efforts to restore the 5,000-acre watershed at Ellsworth Creek near the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.

Ellsworth Creek contains one of the largest remaining patches of old-growth forest in the area, with some trees exceeding 800 years old. Also found are strong salmon runs, as well as abundant amphibians and a population of threatened marbled murrelets.

The Nature Conservancy has purchased 7,200 acres in and around the watershed in the past few years to form the preserve.

Kollasch will discuss the conservancy’s goals for using the watershed as a living laboratory for forest restoration research. The event is sponsored by Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. To learn more or join, visit (www.willapabay.org/~fwnwr )