2015 Annual Report We’Re Committed to Advancing the Field of Conservation and Fixing Freshwater at a Pace and Scale That Matters for Today and Tomorrow
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2015 Annual Report We’re committed to advancing the field of conservation and fixing freshwater at a pace and scale that matters for today and tomorrow. We’re FRIENDS, committed When I think about where The Freshwater Trust was ten, five and even one year ago, I’m astounded by our growth, perseverance and tenacity. These qualities don’t just to advancing appear. They take time to cultivate. They come from having the field of people like you behind us. That’s why I know I speak for the entire staff when I say thank you for your dedication and investment in 2015. It’s made a conservation real difference in the impact The Freshwater Trust has made on the world of conservation. With a solid foundation, we have and fixing the confidence to jump for the big solutions. This is what you want out of any good organization. Deep roots. Strategic freshwater at ambition. Relentless effort. Our donors have helped The Freshwater Trust grow to nearly 50 staff members with four offices in three states — including a pace and the new headquarters in downtown Portland. Over the last year, we’ve taken our tools and technologies to the next scale that level. We gained traction with more cities, farmers, ranchers, conservation groups and the public at large. We owe success like this to you. Rest assured: We will continue fighting for matters outcomes that matter and bring our innovative solutions to bear on the most pressing problems in Oregon, California, for today and Idaho and the country at large. We wouldn’t be who we are today – nor who we will be tomorrow. tomorrow – without you. In earnest, JOE WHITWORTH | President EXPLORE | Staff take Google Street View Trekker on 67-mile float Capturing a California river In 2015, The Freshwater Trust and spawning. The watershed has took the Trekker, Google’s 15-lens also been used to support vineyards camera, strapped it to an inflatable and valuable orchard crops. Yet raft, and floated it down the length loss of streamside vegetation, of California’s Russian River. A small overbearing invasive plants, and flotilla of scientists took turns at the excess sediment from runoff have helm of the craft, the orb sitting tall impacted the region’s waterways. on a pedestal and doing its job to The majority of the streams in the snap 15 photos every 2.5 seconds. basin are listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act. While it doesn’t take much convincing for any of our staff to Using images gathered from put palm to paddle, this trip wasn’t the trek, The Freshwater Trust just for adventure. For more than estimated that 30% of the Russian 60 miles, the camera collected needs revegetation to lower the imagery of streamside vegetation water temperatures to a more and river conditions to be used hospitable level for fish, filter for identifying and prioritizing nutrients and runoff, and stabilize restoration sites. the banks. More than 6,500 occurrences of invasive species Snaking southward and draining were also mapped with the help of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, the imagery gathered from the trip. the Russian River provides drinking water for several hundred thousand “Our partnership with Google Californians and serves as critical Maps gave us invaluable insight wildlife habitat for fish migration into what parts of the river need 3 | 2015 Annual Report “We could clearly see the problems and understand the path forward to fixing them. It was a great example of 21st century conservation in action.” the most work,” said Mike Jolliffe, applied research scientist with The Freshwater Trust. “We could clearly MICHAEL JOLLIFFE see the problems and understand the path forward to fixing them. Applied Research Scientist It was a great example of 21st century conservation in action.” 4 RESTORE | Long-term restoration adds up for the Sandy River Basin A decade later and a basin made better Majestic. Wild. Lush. Dense. Still Creek once provided vital Powerful. spawning and rearing habitat for native coho, spring Chinook, winter This is how we would describe steelhead, and cutthroat trout. Yet Oregon’s Salmon River and Still roads, recreation, development, Creek. stream cleanouts, forest fires, and historic timber harvest took a toll We know these waters. We’ve on this tributary. In 1964, the Army studied them. We’ve protected Corps of Engineers straightened the native fish that call them home. sections of the Salmon River and removed large wood from the The Freshwater Trust has been floodplain. Habitat decreased, and building log jams, placing boulders, so did critical fish populations. replanting native species, and reconnecting channels in the As part of the Sandy River Basin Sandy River Basin for nearly a Partners, a group of public and decade. Walk along either of these private organizations working to waterways, and you’ll can see our restore the native fish populations impact – out of the water in the of the basin, The Freshwater Trust form of towering, stacked logs, and has taken action on the ground for in it, where fish swim underneath. more than a decade. This is big. 5 | 2015 Annual Report Our monitoring data shows it’s working. More diverse and complex habitat has been created, and fish are utilizing the restored “There’s something areas. In 2015, adult salmon and steelhead were observed holding incredible about in restored pools and spawning in gravel recruited from constructed coming back here wood jams. Juvenile fish are now rearing in restored side channels. year after year and “This is our backyard basin,” said Mark McCollister, habitat watching it change restoration director with The Freshwater Trust. “There’s for the better.” something incredible about coming back here year after year MARK MCCOLLISTER and watching it change for the Habitat Restoration Director better. You can see the years of dirt work and collaboration. All of it has mattered.” 6 “ A clear-eyed view for how business should think about the critical resource of water in the coming century.” ANDY BRYANT Chairman of the Board, Intel 7 | 2015 Annual Report SHARE | President launches book and podcast hits 15,000 downloads Big names and bold conversations On a Friday evening in September, will demand new solutions. Joe Whitworth made his way to the front of a crowded room Andy Bryant, chairman of the board at Powell’s Books Portland, the at Intel, Andrew Kassoy, cofounder world’s largest independent of B Lab, and Alexandra Cousteau, bookstore. He took a deep breath National Geographic Explorer, and welcomed the more than supported the book with rave reviews. 100 people in front of him. They Bryant says, “A clear-eyed view for were there to hear from the newly how business should think about published author of “Quantified: the critical resource of water in the Redefining Conservation for the coming century.” “Transformative” Next Economy.” and “True innovation in the conservation world” wrote two other Whitworth spent years working on reviewers on Amazon. what he calls a blueprint to fixing America’s waterways and moving 2015 also proved itself to be an conservation forward. Island Press impressive year for our freshwater published it in 2015, and more than Talk podcast. Meg Lowman, a thousand copies were sold over an arbornaut who studies tree the course of the year. canopies by rope and airship, talked to us about the impact of Drawing lessons from tech-savvy, drought on California redwoods. high-impact organizations, he We hosted an episode from World shows how we can make real Water Week in Sweden. George gains for the environment. The Hawkins, general manager of DC no-nonsense strategy builds on Water and former advisor to Al the inspirational environmental Gore, explained how he’s taken work begun in the 1970s, while an innovative approach to treating recognizing that the next economy water for 1.6 million people. 8 RENEW | Increase in Lostine River Chinook attributed to flow agreement From conflict to collaboration Eleven years ago, The Freshwater Trust entered a pact to improve habitat in the Lostine River. In 2015, we took stock of what it’s meant. The Lostine is a defining waterway of northeastern Oregon. Sixteen miles of this tributary to the Wallowa River have been designated as “Wild & Scenic,” a recognition reserved by the U.S. Forest Service for protecting rivers with particular value, such as scenic, recreational or cultural. 9 | 2015 Annual Report “This is what we call a true biological response,” said Caylin Barter, flow restoration director with The Freshwater Trust. “This agreement “...more water in the essentially assured there would be more water in the river during the river during the times times when fish needed it the most.” when fish needed it While many factors contribute to the uptick in fish response over the years, the most.” including a suite of habitat actions implemented by restoration partners, a hatchery supplementation program CAYLIN BARTER initiated by the Nez Perce Tribe, and varying oceanic conditions, there is no denying that wetting what was once a dry river and allowing salmon to migrate to pristine spawning grounds has played an integral role Much like the days of old, members in recovery. of the Nez Perce Tribe still rely on the sacred, homeland waters of For decades, conservation and the Lostine for sustenance and agriculture have been at odds, failing actively work to preserve its place to recognize that insufficient water in the world. The Lostine River also doesn’t only harm the environment; supplies irrigation to thousands it threatens the future of agriculture of acres of mostly forage and itself. From years of conflict we have grain crops, keeping a small rural come, to years of innovation and economy alive and well.