Friend,

Persistence.

It’s how rivers cut through rock.

It’s how 50 years ago, a small group of Earth Day founders pulled people together across political lines, geographies and sectors with the simple idea that the environment deserved formal protections.

It’s how The Freshwater Trust (TFT) grew 10x by transitioning from a small but effective advocacy group focused on procedure to an innovating organization focused on outcomes. Today, it’s how we continue to fix rivers in the face of a global pandemic.

Our partners and staff are installing water-saving irrigation systems and gearing up to plant thousands of new trees, build dozens of new large wood projects, clear invasive species, and collect data to ensure projects already in the ground are having results. Moreover, this work supports full-time and seasonal jobs in rural communities at a time when they’re hugely needed.

The dispersed, outdoor nature of fixing rivers is not the only thing making this work possible. It can be attributed to good structure, strong management and committed supporters, like you friend.

In Ashland, we already broke ground on the first project as part of a new contract with the city. Nearly a dozen others will be implemented in the Rogue basin between now and the end of this fall.

Our monitoring crew will travel to more than 20 sites across Oregon to take photos and gather the data that will tell you how your dollars are making a difference.

Come July, the helicopters will fly through the Sandy basin, carrying large wood and adding to a decade of improving fish habitat.

And as temperatures rise, the species we love will reap the benefits of the partnerships we’ve made with farmers and ranchers.

We anticipate our share of setbacks and new realities. In fact, we have built them into our game plan, and will adapt parts of our work to better respond to the pressing needs of our local communities and economies as they develop.

Yet even as we do, you can count on consistently hearing more in the coming months about fish spawning, helicopters flying, plants growing, tech developing, water being saved, and more.

This Earth Day, and every day, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to persist.

In gratitude,

Joe Whitworth

P.S. We understand the tumultuous, unpredictable nature of this time and that resources are needed on the front lines of this crisis. That’s why we are not actively soliciting donations this Earth Day. Should you choose to give, thank you. Your support will go toward fixing rivers, remotely and in the field, over the coming months to benefit the environment and the economy. Together, we will persist.​

P.P.S. While we can’t all be out on the river right now, we can come together in virtual ways. Join us for a virtual fly-fishing film night on Thursday, April 30th.

April 22, 2020

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#Earth Day    

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