The Portland-based Freshwater Trust is the nation’s oldest water trust. The organization uses an outcomes-based approach to implement quantified best practices that accelerate the pace of freshwater ecosystem restoration. Staff have expertise ranging from fish biology to hydrology, geographic information systems, environmental law, business and finance, and conservation and ecosystem analysis. Since its inception, the trust has conducted more than 150 voluntary water right transactions, restored nearly 9,000 linear feet of stream habitat and blocked nearly 200,000 pounds of sediment from entering freshwater rivers.
Freshwater Trust measures freshwater indicators, such as water temperature reduction from streamside vegetation planting and nutrient density reduction from crowd cropping or irrigation upgrades. Water quality and habitat restoration projects include building river log jams for fish spawning, removing invasive plants, protecting streams from livestock and planting trees to lower water temperature and stabilized streambanks. To improve water quantity, the organization upgrades irrigation efficiency infrastructure and partners with landowners to shorten the length of their irrigation season or voluntarily lease a portion of their rights to the trust for management. The trust also works with municipalities, utilities and business interests to offset their impact, evaluate baseline habitat and water quality conditions, and optimize conservation investments through innovative compliance programs and market-based approaches.
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