Rogue River Basin

About

The Rogue lives up to its name, wildly carving its way from the Cascade Range’s Crater Lake to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately—due to the straightening of stream channels, removal of streamside vegetation, alteration of floodplains, urban growth, and an increasing load of invasive species—the quality of habitat has declined along the river’s mainstem and tributaries. Additionally, the historically cold Rogue River is warming, threatening iconic salmon and steelhead species as well as the drinking water supply for rapidly growing cities. An increasingly dry and unpredictable climate promises to continue intensifying these challenges and introduce new ones, such as the increased threat of wildfire.

Partnering with the cities of Medford and Ashland, federal agencies, and dozens of other local entities, The Freshwater Trust (TFT) has taken big steps since 2012 to improve the Rogue by planting streamside buffers and building large wood structures instream. Thanks to innovative, long-term partnerships that enabled the cities to comply with Clean Water Act permits by funding restoration projects, TFT has planted more than 230,000 native trees and shrubs, whose shade will offset the warm water discharged from wastewater treatment plants, stabilize banks, and reduce fire risk. We also worked with the Bureau of Reclamation to install 352 large wood structures to increase the complexity of instream habitat and address the factors that hinder native fish, specifically federally listed coho salmon.  

Additionally, TFT has been working with the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Jackson County to address critical post-wildfire needs in the Bear Creek corridor. By removing invasive species and replanting with native species, and by creating “safe snags” and reducing flammable debris, this work provides both ecological benefits and community safety benefits. The importance of this work was made clear in the wake of a 2020 wildfire that swept across the region. Restored areas that had native vegetation proved to dramatically slow the spread of the fire.

In the Rogue, we have been leading the charge to demonstrate that utilities and agencies can comfortably invest in their watersheds in order to secure compliance, that analytics can drive efficient implementation that maximizes ecological benefits and achieves durable outcomes, and that predictable conservation investment provides the right signals for a conservation economy to scale up. Using this approach, we are helping communities in the basin adapt to future climate conditions while making sure that fish have more water and colder water left in the streams.