Watershed Stewardship

The Watershed Stewardship FAC contributes to a heightened awareness of the ecological, social, and economic significance of watersheds.  This FAC supports protection, restoration, education, and advocacy efforts in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska). 

The FAC has maintained a strategy up until now of funding a broad array of projects in the following areas: 

K-12 education (students engaged in hands-on activities such as riparian restoration and water monitoring), river and stream channel restoration, terrestrial and lan-based impacts, water acquisition and rights transfer, policy and science, community building and outreach, and market incentives. 

The FAC has completed its 2008 grant cycle and is no longer accepting applications for funding.  The FAC is undertaking a review of its priorities and approach and will post information about its conclusions in the late Fall of 2008.

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.

In 2007 the Watershed Program area made the following grants:

American Rivers, Seattle, Washington 
$20,000
To ensure that the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on Washington's Elwha River, Portland General Electric's Marmot and Little Sandy dams in Oregon's Sandy River Basin, and PacifiCorp's Condit dam on Washington's White Salmon River are removed and to communicate the success of these major river restoration projects. To marshal scientific and socio-economic information that will facilitate other dam removals in the Pacific Northwest. To advocate a thorough and objective analysis of all relevant environmental and economic issues surrounding the proposed Black Rock dam project in Washington's Yakima Basin.
 
Cascadia Wildlands Project, Cordova, Alaska
$10,000
To prepare a comprehensive restoration plan for the Yakataga watershed as part of Phase I of the Lost Coast Restoration Project. Initial restoration efforts will focus on pilot projects working with a diversity of stakeholders, including community members, scientists, foresters, allies at the Eyak Preservation Council, and other local conservation groups in the Yakataga River watershed.
 
Earthjustice, Seattle, Washington
$15,000
To preserve the Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS), a scientifically based framework for protecting Pacific Northwest old growth forest watersheds. A cornerstone of the Northwest Forest Plan, the ACS protects clean water and salmon habitat in the federal forests of western Washington and Oregon by requiring that individual logging, road building, mining and other projects be constrained or tailored to protect functioning watersheds.
 
Montana Outdoor Science School, Bozeman, Montana
$7,000
To support the Ninth Annual Gallatin Valley Watershed Festival, a hands-on watershed education community event that strives to create a heightened awareness and understanding of the importance of protecting water resources.
 
National Center for Conservation Science & Policy, Ashland, Oregon
$20,000
National Center for Conservation Science & Policy's mission is to create science-based solutions to protect and restore the life processes and ecological vitality that sustains all lands, waters and communities. This grant is for general operating support.
 
National Parks Conservation Association, Seattle, Washington
$15,000
To improve the Elwha Valley's riparian habitat by educating and engaging individuals from rural communities in hands-on re-vegetation and habitat restoration. To build community support for watershed restoration on the Olympic Peninsula by recruiting and mobilizing community volunteers and by providing project leadership, supplies, and materials.
 
Northwest Youth Corps, Eugene, Oregon
$9,912
To improve watershed health in West Eugene with youth crews working with the Nature Conservancy at Willow Creek Preserve to remove non-native vegetation. Youth crews will also improve aquatic and terrestrial habitat for several endangered species on lands & waters managed by the McKenzie River Trust by removing noxious weeds to be replaced with native willow plantings.
 
Oregon Natural Desert Association, Bend, Oregon
$15,000
To protect native fish populations and improve overall watershed health by reducing the impacts of grazing in critical fish habitat within the John Day River watershed. To collaborate with local ranchers and federal agencies to remove institutional barriers to retiring federal grazing permits in the John Day Basin, while pursuing long-term protection of federal lands.
 
Oregon Water Trust, Portland, Oregon
$20,000
To enhance the health of Little Butte and Bear Creeks, two important and threatened salmon streams in Southern Oregon, by developing a Jackson County Water Bank to facilitate the coordinated movement of water from one purpose to another (an agricultural purpose to in-stream use or for municipal purposes). To develop relationships with local irrigation districts and major holders of large parcels of water rights in Jackson County.
 
10,000 Years Institute, Port Townsend, Washington
$15,000
To develop a Watershed Stewardship and Resources Center for Jefferson County citizens, landowners, and developers to improve watershed-based community outreach and education, protect and sustain the County's critical ecosystem services, and create a setting for positive interaction between citizens and regulators.
 
Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Bend, Oregon
$15,000
To develop an information collection and dissemination template that will guide a ten-year restoration effectiveness communication strategy in the Deschutes Basin. This communication template will be designed to translate the highly technical information about key watershed indicators into an easily-accessible, meaningful and accurate assessment of watershed health that can be used to advocate for watershed restoration with a broad community audience.
 
Washington Rivers Conservancy, Wenatchee, Washington
$12,200
To develop and present four workshops in north central Washington to help landowners, farmers, ranchers, real estate agents, and land use planners understand the basis of water rights under Washington water law and the opportunities to transfer water rights to in-stream flows in return for compensation. The workshops will highlight opportunities for farmers to increase the efficiency of their irrigation systems, which may free up water no longer needed for diversion and conveyence to be transferred in-stream.
 
Watershed Education Network, Missoula, Montana
$20,000
To expand the School Stream Monitoring Program to incorporate a timely and historic local watershed event: the removal of Milltown Reservoir and Dam Superfund Site, as well as associated remediation, restoration and redevelopment. To engage more than 1,500 K-12 students in Western Montana in hands-on, place-based watershed education, using best available science to educate students and community members about ecosystem function.
 
Wilderness Society, Seattle, Washington
$20,000
To lead a broad-based collaborative effort to restore the badly damaged Skokomish River watershed on the Olympic Peninsula and work with local and regional media to increase public awareness and support of Skokomish watershed restoration. Key stakeholders in the watershed, including the major federal and private forest landowners, county and tribal governments, and conservationists, will be active participants, improving coordination of restoration plans and activities in the upper and lower portions of the watershed and deepening relationships for future work together on the Peninsula.
 
Wolftree, Sisters, Oregon
$20,000
To support the Whychus Creek Improvement Project to improve and protect the fish and wildlife habitat of the Creek and increase community watershed awareness and stewardship. To engage the Sisters community, especially its young people, in riparian restoration, expand outreach activities that increase community support, and protect important Creek habitats through advancement of policies that conserve the floodplain of Whychus Creek.
 
 
2007 FUNDING INFORMATION
 
    Qualifying & timely preliminary letters of inquiry received............................63
    Approximate total dollar amount requested.......................................$891,717
    Proposals selected for full grant application & review..................................17
    Dollar amount of full grant application requests................................$354,112
    Grants made.................................................................................................15
    Total dollar amount funded................................................................$234,112
    Average size of grant..........................................................................$15,607