“It’s how my parents did it and how their parents did it,” said Jessica Humphreys, restoration project manager in Enterprise, Oregon. “We hear that a lot.”
Landscapes are forged from legacy.
We have a deep respect for that, and understand the ways farmers and ranchers have long served as the foundation of rural economies throughout the West.
Yet we also know there are new ways of working the land that will ensure the protection of the invaluable waterways that make their livelihood possible. Today, The Freshwater Trust (TFT) partners with landowners throughout Oregon on projects that use collaborative partnerships, unique funding models, and technologies to improve the ways crops and livestock are produced, while keeping local waterways at sustainable levels for fish populations.
Late this spring, we’ll install a new irrigation efficiency project on a working ranch in Wallowa county that will conserve and protect nearly 1,000 gallons per minute between May and July.
“The Johnston Lane family have been raising cattle and growing grass and alfalfa out here for four decades,” said Humphreys. “The willingness of individuals to sit at the table with us and consider something that they never have before is what can mean the difference between water in an entire river come this summer. That’s how much it matters.”
