Coastal Headwaters Association was founded in 1978 by the Whale Gulch Community, and received its nonprofit 501(c) (3) status in 1981. It is the parent entity for both the Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company and the Whale Gulch Fire Safe Council.

C.H.A. is the community of Whale Gulch’s primary non-profit organization established to provide paths for the development of community purpose through cooperative action; to construct a community center; to encourage and provide educational facilities for both children and adults; to encourage and provide health care services; to encourage and provide communication and transportation systems appropriate to a rural setting; to encourage and sponsor cultural activities and events; to raise and maintain a high level of fire prevention consciousness; to prevent and suppress fires through local fire departments; to promote economic opportunities beneficial to the environment, such as salvage logging and the harnessing of the wind and sun for energy; to engage in economically sound land management practices, such as reforestation, watershed preservation and restoration; to promote an understanding of the value of wilderness as a frame of reference for human endeavors.