Bonneville Env. Foundation Pays OR Water-Rights Holders To Return Flows While Retaining Rights

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Lawrence Martin remembers from his boyhood how Evans Creek flowed like an artery in the Rogue River Valley -- a deep, cold stream that gave life to salmon, steelhead and other species. Then the forests upstream were clear-cut in the 1950s. Floods scoured out the channel and stripped the land of its topsoil. And, one summer, the creek went dry. It happened again. And again. "I saw the ground losing productivity, and I saw our water resources dwindling, saw Evans Creek fading," said Martin, the third-generation owner of the J Diamond L, a ranch his grandfather founded.

A few years ago, he realized he couldn't keep irrigating all of the 100 acres of hay he farmed. But today, that has changed. Evans Creek has a healthy flow again, thanks to an innovative program by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation that aims to recharge once-thriving Northwest streams.

The program, which acts similar to carbon offsets, essentially pays water-rights holders to leave the water in the stream. Because rights are based on a use-it-or-lose-it model, many users continue to draw water even if they don't need it or their irrigation is ineffective -- rather than lose their claim.

The program allows them to stop using the water without losing their rights -- while being compensated. Any company or individual can purchase water restoration certificates from the foundation to offset their water footprint. The water rights holders in turn are paid to leave water in the stream. The voluntary program's first three customers have environmental ties -- the Bullitt Foundation in Seattle, the Natural Resources Defense Council and White Wave Foods, a Broomfield, Colo.-based company that produces organic milk and soy products. Bonneville hopes to eventually expand the program across the nation.

EDIT

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/09/innovative_water-rights_progra.html