History
The Freshwater Trust has spent decades building and applying data-driven conservation solutions that scale. Take a look back at our history to understand where we've been and where we're going.
1991
We led a coalition that filed to list several Pacific salmon under the Endangered Species Act, positively changing how the government managed river ecosystems and national forests.
1993
Founded Oregon Water Trust (OWT), the nation’s first entity to apply a market-based approach to keep water instream to protect fish and wildlife habitat. With partners, OWT enacted a new law in Oregon recognizing instream water rights and allowed water rights holders to transfer their rights, enabling us to incentivize farmers to use water efficiently. These actions influenced instream flow laws now existing in all 14 western states.
1996
Created the region’s first outdoor educational program to connect students with wild fish, a program that continues today as Salmon Watch.
2003
Internationally recognized for implementing the first of its kind large mainstem river remeander in Oregon’s Klamath River Basin, which better regulates water flow to improve fish habitat and spawning grounds.
2005
Hosted the first Fight for Fish charity golf tournament at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon.
2006
Planted 100,000 trees along the Deschutes River, providing needed shade to lower water temperatures, and adding more stability to the shoreline to resist erosion
2007
Launched effort to build the StreamBank® web platform to increase the pace and scale of restoration projects.
2011
We received our U.S. patent for StreamBank®, which further proved the efficacy of our investments in software to better manage conservation projects.
Secured $1 million grant from the USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grant program.
Signed 20-year contract with the City of Medford to restore miles of streams in the Rogue River Basin – launching the nation’s most accountable water quality trading model.
Named Administrator of Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Habitat Fund to distribute funds to projects that restore native fish habitat in Oregon.
2012
We received special recognition for advancing water quality trading by the Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies.
2013
Implemented FAST: Fifteenmile Action to Stabilize Temperature. FAST uses a predictive model that combines climate and streamflow information to forecast water temperatures and alerts irrigators to reduce diversions when needed.
Awarded U.S. Water Prize for innovation.
2014
Received State Land Board Award for basin-scale habitat work in the Sandy River Basin.
Opened office in Boise, Idaho.
Developed a program to protect the McKenzie River with local conservation groups, implementing riparian restoration actions and water leasing programs.
Started working with California’s City of Santa Rosa to reduce phosphorus and improve habitat quality in the Laguna de Santa Rosa.
2015
Island Press published President Joe Whitworth’s first book, “Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy.”
Partnered with Google to discover how using advanced cameras could help survey waterways.
Awarded $350,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation to build a water budgeting prototype in California.
Applied funds from Bella Vista Foundation to BasinScout to prioritize sites for restoration. The funds also helped launch large-scale habitat restoration projects for the Middle Fork John Day and Bear Creek on land owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
2016
Opened office in Sacramento, California.
Implemented first on-the-ground restoration action as part of the Snake River Stewardship Program with Idaho Power Company.
Finalist in Imagine H2O’s California Water Policy Challenge.
Partnered with Portland State University and Oregon State University to test how drones can help monitor streamside health.
Awarded Portland Monthly’s Light a Fire Award.
2017
Developed an alternative compliance plan for surface water users in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to comply with Senate Bill 88.
2018
Signed a contract with the City of Ashland for a second water quality trading program in the Rogue Basin and another with the U.S. Forest Service to develop systems to facilitate more efficient and effective restoration within the designated Wild & Scenic sections of the river.
Completed all originally scoped instream habitat restoration actions for Still Creek, setting it on a trajectory for full recovery for native fish. This is an important component of the comprehensive Sandy River Basin Aquatic Habitat Restoration Strategy.
Received more than half a million dollars from the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) for the Johnston Lane Conservation Project to convert 300 acres in eastern Oregon from flood irrigation to a pivot irrigation system, resulting in a 20% increase in agricultural production.
Received a $490,000 grant from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to engage disadvantaged communities in plans to sustainably manage groundwater in California.
Hosted our first Women on Water trip, an expedition to get more women CEOs, founders, and leaders out on the water and connected to rivers.
2019
Partnered with IBM to pilot a project using blockchain and remote sensing to track groundwater use in California.
Secured $280.5 million in state funds through our partnership with the Sacramento Area Sewer District to model and offset the impacts of their operations, while improving streamflow and offering ecological benefits across the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Signed a contract with the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission of Eugene-Springfield to implement our third innovative water quality trading program in Oregon.
2020
Contracted with the American Farmland Trust (AFT) to help identify and prioritize on-farm projects and easements that result in the greatest outcomes for surface and groundwater resources in the San Joaquin Valley.
Awarded a grant of just over $1 million from the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants for habitat restoration in the Sandy basin.
Received nearly $500,000 from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust to help develop a data-driven approach for directing leveraged funding to prioritized restoration projects in the Deschutes and Crooked River basins.
Signed on with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) of Seattle to assess the feasibility of a collaborative, multiparty program to improve the water quality of the Puget
Sound.
Partnered with Microsoft to discover cost-effective projects that benefit water quality and quantity in the Sacramento region and ultimately contribute to Microsoft’s water stewardship strategy and sustainability efforts.
TFT President Joe Whitworth testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, advocating to leverage technology and finance in new ways to solve legacy water problems.
2021
Helped develop the Watershed Results Act to focus conservation funds on measurable outcomes.
For the sixth time, recognized as one of the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine.
2022
Began working with the largest irrigation district in Colorado to design programs that conserve water, strengthen agricultural productivity, and improve watershed health.
2023
Received $5.6-million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lead a multi-stakeholder toxics reduction program in the Snake River.
Partnering with the Bureau of Reclamation, completed 15 projects and installed nearly 350 large wood structures to restore fish habitat in Oregon’s Rogue River basin.
Received $150,000 feasibility study grant from the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities’ Innovative Finance for National Forests program to develop a leveraged funding framework that will support collaborative restoration work in California’s Cosumnes River watershed.
