Stories from the Field: Update on the Willamette River Initiative

Building Knowledge - Meyer Memorial Trust


In 2007, the Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) announced a new initiative focused on the Willamette River.  MMT had many reasons to target the Willamette as a strategic funding priority.  The Willamette Basin is home to 70% of Oregon’s population and produces 75% of its economic output.  The river is one of the defining features of the state’s geography and intrinsic to our sense of place and history.  The Willamette and its tributaries provide essential services to the people and environment of western Oregon – water for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses; critical habitat for native fish and wildlife; and special places where people can fish, boat and swim.


Aerial view of the Willamette River, photo courtesy of Willamette Riverkeeper


Waterfowl taking off from the Willamette floodplain, photo courtesy of Greenbelt Land Trust

In July 2008, the MMT board of trustees authorized the first two WRI funding strategies; one focused on the mainstream Willamette and the other on its tributaries.  On the mainstem, the Trust joined with the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) to encourage and co-fund projects that restore channel complexity, floodplain connectivity and fish and wildlife habitat in high priority reaches.


Beaver Dam on a side channel of the Willamette River, photo courtesy of McKenzie River Trust

In the Willamette’s tributaries, the Trust is partnering with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) and a number of local watershed councils to support a “whole watershed” approach to achieving improved conditions in smaller stream systems, with a strong emphasis on long-range planning and disciplined monitoring and evaluation.

Since the MMT board of trustees authorized these initial funding strategies, the Trust has invested almost $2.5 million in the Willamette River.  Grants have been awarded to 16 different organizations, including local and regional land trusts, watershed councils, conservation groups involved in river restoration work, and the state university system.

Successful restoration projects include a wide array of activities and provide exciting opportunities for foundations to leverage significant public dollars.  For example, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, which funds watershed restoration projects throughout the state, channels a majority of its support to the on-the-ground, capital components of projects.  However, before a restoration project is ready for implementation, nonprofit organizations must conduct outreach, plan and design the project, secure the necessary permits, and collect baseline ecological data.  After implementation, several years of monitoring must be performed to determine if the project achieved the desired ecological outcomes.  Foundations can leverage relatively small grants by supporting pre-implementation activities that get projects to the implementation phase and eligible for public funding.

Click HERE (INSERT LINK TO E-NEWSLETTER ENTRY FLOATY PAGE)  for more information initiative, including a project highlight on the Lane County’s Howard Buford Recreation Area.

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