Demand for Watershed Solutions on the Rise: The Freshwater Trust Opens New Office in Idaho

The Freshwater Trust, a nonprofit river restoration organization based in Portland, Oregon, is expanding its operations by opening a new office in Boise, Idaho. The move is the organization’s first office outside of Oregon.

With a mission to restore freshwater ecosystems, The Freshwater Trust advances conservation solutions to fix more rivers faster. By creating and using innovative tools, methods and technologies that quantify conservation improvements to achieve specific outcomes, the group is accelerating how rivers are repaired and expanding its impact regionally and nationally.

“From our roots as a small salmon recovery group started over 30 years ago, our innovations have prompted growth as we’ve taken on larger and larger habitat restoration programs. Our work has reached critical mass in Oregon and Idaho, but we have increasingly been asked to bring our expertise to help restore flow and fix more rivers in other regions such as California,” said President Joe Whitworth.

Christy Meyer opens up The Freshwater Trust’s new office in Boise, Idaho.

Restoring function throughout the Snake River system is the first priority in Idaho – an effort that The Freshwater Trust recognizes requires a multi-year investment and support from a broad coalition of stakeholders including conservation groups, businesses, landowners, and municipalities. The Freshwater Trust is already engaged with a number of these partners in Idaho.

Christy Meyer, a three-year employee of The Freshwater Trust, has moved from Portland to Boise to manage the new office. With a background in stream ecology and business management, Meyer has managed multiple aspects of The Freshwater Trust’s water quality trading programs in Oregon.

“We’ve definitely seen increased demand from a variety of groups seeking solutions that benefit both the environment and the bottom-line,” said Meyer. “We are here to help.”

The nonprofit’s Boise office will be located downtown in the Sonna Building at 910 Main Street and expects to grow in the next year. For more information, call 208-321-8116.