Watersheds have social, ecological and economic significance. Clean, healthy watersheds are a vital source of drinking water, irrigation, recreation, species preservation, and environmental integrity.
The Laird Norton Family Foundation invests in collaborative, community-led watershed restoration with the goal of making measurable improvements in the ecosystems of watersheds – from fish passage and streamflow restoration to land conservation and environmental education for local youth. We are currently working in the Hood Canal (WA), Rogue (OR), and Truckee (CA) watersheds and invest in watershed restoration planning, prioritization, and adaptive management in those basins. In the past we have worked in the Upper Deschutes and Coos watersheds in Oregon and the Teton watershed in Idaho.
We select Northwest watersheds based on several criteria:
We select Northwest watersheds based on several criteria:
- Ecological significance
- Partnerships between on-the-ground organizations
- Community engagement and support
- Supportive regulations or watershed improvement plans
- Ongoing scientific monitoring
- The presence of other funders
2017 Watershed Stewardship Grants
- Bonneville Environmental Foundation (OR) $70,000 to engage BEF in continued planning and coordination work in Hood Canal and the Rogue River basin, and to conduct exploratory work on LNFF's behalf. Since 2003, BEF has worked in close partnership with watershed groups operating across a wide range of ecological and social contexts. The collaborative and long-term nature of these relationships has yielded knowledge that is valuable and directly applicable to the work LNFF seeks to advance in Hood Canal and in the Rogue River basin.
- Long Live the Kings (WA) $60,000 to manage implementation of the Hood Canal Bridge Ecosystem Impact Assessment Plan.
- Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe (WA) $25,000 to support implementation of components of the Hood Canal Bridge Impact Assessment Plan.
- Rogue Basin Partnership (OR) $100,000 to support the capacity of this newly-formed restoration backbone organization and to support member organizations in implementing the Rogue Basin Restoration Action Plan. The Rogue Basin Partnership is a member-based collaborative organization that serves as a coordinating entity for watershed restoration within the 3.3-million acre Rogue River Basin of SW Oregon and NW California.
- Truckee River Watershed Council (CA) $45,000 to support by-state work and project development. The Truckee River Watershed Council was founded in 1996 to protect and restore the water quality and biological resources of the watershed; they serve as conveners, coordinators, and implementers for restoration projects directly related to the health, beauty, and economy of the watershed.
Coming Back: Restoring the Skokomish Watershed tells the story of a diverse set of organizations and local residents collaborating to set priorities and move past historical tensions and disagreements to advance a massive restoration of the Skokomish watershed, a sub-basin of Hood Canal (one of LNFF's three focus watersheds). This video was produced with a grant from LNFF in 2013.