Grants and Reports

The Watershed Stewardship Fund Advisory Committe just completed its 2008 round of funding and has made the following grants:

In early 2008 the Watershed Stewardship Committee invited almost all its previous grantees to apply for funding.  After completing an evaluation of Letters of Inquiry and a short list of final Proposals the FAC made the following grants:

American Rivers, $20,000

Premised on the observation that dams cause major disruptions in river ecosystems by blocking fish passage, inundating floodplain, wetland and river habitats, and preventing the movement of sediment and nutrients downstream, the project will accomplish work in three primary areas:  (1) remove two large dams on the White Salmon and Little Sandy Rivers to restore those watersheds; (2) build public and decision-maker support for dam removal as a river restoration tool; (3) and ensure that water supply needs in the Columbia River Basin are addressed through improvements in water efficiency rather than the construction of harmful new dams, including the proposed Black Rock project in the Yakima River Basin.

Blackfoot Challenge, $15,000

The restoration projects on Enders Spring Creek and Poorman Creek (two high priority tributaries in the Blackfoot River watershed) will improve habitat conditions for native wild trout.   These projects are part of the organization’s broader restoration program, whose partners include the Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited and several local, state and federal agencies, as well as other non-profit organizations and private landowners.  The program is a voluntary, non-regulatory approach centered on achieving a “win-win” for both the watershed and for private landowners. 

Cascade Land Conservancy, $10,000

The organization will conduct a pilot project that will restore critical migratory and shorebird and salmon habitat in the Queets Estuary through a partnership with the Veterans Conservation Corp (VCC), a program of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. After training, volunteers from the VCC will remove a patch of Japanese knotweed that threatens at least two acres of property currently managed by Cascade Land Conservancy. Through the Veteran’s Estuary Stewardship Project, VCC volunteers will accomplish on-the-ground restoration, learn professional skills and develop an understanding of the need for long-term protection and stewardship of our region’s estuary lands. This partnership will set the stage for future on-the-ground restoration actions.

Earthjustice, $20,000

Organization will pursue a legal challenge of SESSHB 1338, the Washington State Municipal Water Law (MWL).  Passed by the State legislature in 2003, the MWL vastly expands the amount of water that cities, water districts, and even private developers can take from WA waters under old, and sometimes previously unused, water rights.  Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court challenging MWL on behalf of conservation groups, a commercial fishing organization and several individuals.  Because this case presents a constitutional challenge to the law, it will require a significant amount of attorney time to litigate it in Superior Court and possibily in the WA State Supreme Court.

Greater Gallatin Watershed, $20,000

Project will train and coordinate volunteers to monitor three streams in the Gallatin Watershed.  The project will supplement work of state and local agencies to fill a gap in available water quality data and to help build a base for localized long-term trend analysis.  The three streams – Bridger Creek, Bozeman Creek and Thompson Creek – were selected for the start-up phase flow through urban, agricultural, and recreational areas.  In addition to gathering baseline data, the project provides an educational and engagement opportunity to landowners and community members to become local stewards of streams. 

Kootenai Environmental Alliance, $10,000

Project seeks to prevent the over allocation of this fast-growing region’s water resources.  Organization is working to revise Idaho’s outdated domestic and municipal water allocation (water rights) laws and guidelines by protesting excessive water right applications.  Further, it is promoting water conservation to ensure the sustainability of the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley aquifer. 

Montana Water Trust, $15,000

Project develops cooperative agreements that transfer consumptive water rights to instream flow for the Bitterroot and Big Hole Watersheds.  These water right transactions will benefit those reaches of both systems that are most critical for native bull trout and arctic grayling populations.  The goal is to begin developing up to five new water right lease agreements with landowners on priority streams within the next year.

Nature Conservancy, $20,000

Premised on the observation that salmon survival relies on healthy habitat and linkages throughout watersheds where they return to spawn and rear, the organization will work to create a network of 10 platform watersheds, implementing effective policy solutions for salmon restoration, and exporting its expertise in watershed protection and restoration.  Specific work accomplished this year will include the development of conservation action plans for three of the 10 platform watersheds. 

Network of Oregon Watershed Councils, $15,000

Project will train and mentor new watershed council coordinators, which will address the high rate of turnover and improve the continuity of councils’ restoration work.  Project will undertake a four point program to build the capacity of new coordinators: (1) provide one-on-one support; (2) develop an orientation manual; (3) sponsor two workshops during the year; (4) organize a peer group mentorship via conference calls. 

Oregon Natural Desert Association, $10,000

ONDA's John Day Wild Salmon Project seeks to protect native salmon and steelhead fish populations by restoring critical fish habitat and improving overall watershed health in the John Day basin. Project will work with a partners to: 1) remove livestock grazing from critical fish habitat through the voluntary retirement of grazing permits; 2) secure federal wilderness designations for the most unique and ecologically valuable areas in the John Day basin; 3) consolidate private and public lands to facilitate better land management practices; 4) undertake habitat restoration in two key watersheds in the lower John Day basin; and 5) secure a Wild and Scenic River recommendation from the BLM for newly-acquired lands along the North Fork John Day River.

Oregon Water Trust, $20,000

Project builds on continuing efforts to develop the Jackson County Water Bank, an institutionalized process that facilitates reallocation of water to new uses including stream flow restoration.  Project components include leasing irrigation water rights instream, exercising the option of a city’s municipal water rights instream lease, establishing an operational plan, and supporting technical assistance to participants on the water banking process. 

Oregon Environmental Council, $20,000

Premised on the approach of protecting water quality-limited streams in Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley from the impacts of urban stormwater runoff, the project provides workshops on water quality-friendly development practices to developers, planners and local governments; as well as rain garden educational workshops for local residents. 

Pacific Rivers Council, $25,000

Program will identify legacy rivers – those that are still largely intact and relatively insulated from climate and population threats -- so that both public attention and conservation and restoration efforts can do the most good at the least expense. Organization will inventory these rivers, name them, engender public recognition and support of their uniqueness, and prioritize needed restoration and eventual permanent protection so that they may be handed down to further generations as living examples of the biological richness of our natural heritage. The program will establish an important framework / matrix for the work.  Organization will use its assessments to prioritize national restoration funds and direct management practices necessary to achieve the most effective restoration on the ground.

Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute, $25,000

he Mobile Watershed Education Corps will engage over 2,500 Idaho K-12 students in challenging and interdisciplinary place-based environmental education.  Sixteen trained AmeriCorps members will travel throughout the state of Idaho, from Coeur d’Alene to Boise, to deliver 2 - 4 day programs with the goal of heightening student awareness, knowledge and commitment to their home watershed.  Outreach programs will occur in students’ classrooms and in nearby natural areas.  Schools will also have the opportunity to participate in this program at our residential campus in McCall.

Stewardship Partners, $25,000

The Salmon-Safe program certifies agricultural producers whose practices protect water quality and fish and wildlife habitat.  The project will expand a statewide Salmon-Safe program based on recent start-up activities, and develop a marketing and promotion campaign to develop a strong regional branding identity that fosters consumer-to-producer linkages to support conservation-oriented farming.  The program will also promote environmental practices in other sectors such as residential development and golf course management.

Wolftree, Inc., $30,000

The organization will provide project-based watershed science education and community-based restoration projects in five communities in central Oregon and five in northwest Oregon.  The program will directly engage a minimum of ten schools in watershed education and restoration over the next year.  Fifty percent of the participants will represent either urban or rural under-served populations. The total outreach to students, teachers, and community members will exceed 3,000. The change in participant’s attitudes and behaviors towards science, geography, and natural resources will be measured utilizing an innovative assessment tool recently developed by Wolftree’s education committee.