Video: Resilience and the Rogue River Basin

The Rogue is a coveted destination for both rowdy river trips and quieter pursuits of fall steelhead. It’s home to hundreds of family farms, ranches, wineries and orchards. Time, the growth of agriculture and increasing populations have led to the simplification of landscapes, lack of streamside vegetation and habitat. Yet the mighty Rogue continues to give and retains its allure. The Freshwater Trust’s (TFT) actions to improve water quality by planting streamside, building large wood structures, removing fish barriers and fencing livestock, aid in securing its long-term resilience.

Eight years have passed since TFT implemented its first restoration project in the basin. A contract with the City of Medford to offset the impacts of its wastewater treatment facility, and invaluable funding from donors, were catalysts. Today, a woven network of funders and partners and quantified, robust results allow us to point to our work here as the paradigm for what we envision elsewhere.

On Thursday, October 22nd, TFT hosted a virtual introduction to our restoration work and how it promotes resilience for the basin – and its communities. We also touched upon the recent wildfires in Southern Oregon and how our projects fared, as well as what it means for the future of restoration in the Rogue. The event included a Q&A with TFT restoration project managers Katelyn Detweiler, Hilary Cosentino and Eugene Wier, and Director of TFT’s Freshwater Fund Alex Johnson.

Read the transcript