THE FRESHWATER TRUST

We are working for a resilient future where freshwater resources can support our environment, economy and society for generations to come and be resilient enough to withstand the pressures of a changing climate.

We’re pioneers of a new approach. “Quantified Conservation” is about using data and technology to ensure every restoration and conservation action taken translates to a net positive outcome. First, we work to understand the limiting factors driving degradation in a watershed and what a healthy status looks like. Then, we prioritize opportunities into scenarios that achieve benefits for a watershed. After optimization, we work with local partners and willing landowners to restore habitat in key places, to adapt best management practices, or to keep more water in rivers and streams that need it. Along the way, we track how every action we take is making a difference for our freshwater resources and our
communities. Only through strategic action and a laser focus on achieving holistic results can we match the scale of freshwater problems in our country on a timeline that matters.

With more than 35 years of on-the-ground experience, The Freshwater Trust is the largest restoration-focused organization in the Pacific Northwest, and the second largest conservation group based in Oregon.

We have a unique mix of in-house staff expertise, ranging from fish biologists and hydrologists to GIS experts, business and conservation systems analysts, attorneys, and ecosystem services analysts . The Freshwater Trust also has strong partnerships with federal, state and local agencies, non-profit organizations, community-based groups and private landowners. In addition to its headquarters in Portland, Oregon, satellite offices exist in Ashland, Union and Enterprise. The Freshwater Trust also recently established offices in Boise, Idaho and Sacramento, California, where large initiatives are underway.

We currently offer a number of services, including habitat restoration, flow restoration, and compliance solution programs for regulated entities. Our science team uses the latest tools, technologies and models that ensure restoration is happening more effectively and strategically.

Have Accomplished:
--Received a U.S. patent for Streambank®, a web-based platform for river restoration
--Created the largest restoration fund in the country through Oregon lottery dollars
--Awarded more than $2 million to advance the field of restoration through research
--Received the 2013 U.S. Water Prize for our innovative water quality trading program
--Received special recognition in 2012 for advancing water quality trading by Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies
--Conducted 238 flow restoration projects since 1993, involving over 650 transactions
--Partner with more than 200 landowners across Oregon to restore streamflow in eight major basins
--Restore between 98 to 163 million gallons per minute each irrigation season
--Helped develop the Fifteenmile Action to Stabilize Temperature (FAST), a voluntary program that helps keep more water instream for endangered fish when death stream temperatures are forecasted
--A minimum flow agreement in the Lostine River to maintain 15 cfs instream during critical months, in coordination with efforts from local basin partners, has helped support the recovery of the river’s Chinook salmon run from under 50 adults in the early 1990s to over 2,000 adults in 2014.
--11,081 functional linear feet of stream function restored
--816,838,881 kilocalories per day of heat blocked from warming rivers
--211 lbs. of phosphorus prevented from entering rivers per year
--1,717 lbs. of nitrogen prevented from entering rivers per year
--477,708 lbs. of sediment prevented from entering rivers per year
--Received mention from President Obama during the White House Conference on Conservation
-- Partnered with Google to discover how using advanced cameras could help survey waterways.
-- Awarded $350,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation to build a water budgeting prototype in California.
-- Received $150,000 for restoration work in the John Day River Basin from the Bella Vista Foundation.
-- Finalist in Imagine H2O's California Water Policy Challenge.
-- Partnered with Portland State University and Oregon State University to test how drones can help monitor streamside health.
-- Awarded Portland Monthly's Light a Fire Award.
--More than $2.8 million was awarded to fund our conservation tools in 2019.
--Partnered with more than 15 municipalities and regulated entities to develop and implement watershed-scale conservation programs.
--Generated the first compliance-grade phosphorus credits in Oregon through a partnership with PacifiCorp and the Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust

Not Yet Accomplished:
--Ongoing advancement of methods, protocols, innovation and technology that will help us fix more rivers faster
--Broad adoption of water quality trading as a natural infrastructure solution across the country
--Water conservation strategies and agricultural best management practices are broadly adopted
--Key sectors use quantified conservation to align the environment with the economy and increase the scale of restoration work