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The Oregon Solutions Stream Restoration project, sponsored by The Freshwater Trust and the Department of State lands, is designed to increase the quality and scope of aquatic restoration projects carried out voluntarily by private landowners. The efforts of project sponsors and participating stakeholders underscore the need to work cooperatively as a Stream Restoration Partnership, to better coordinate and accelerate restoration-related efforts.
The goal of the Stream Restoration Partnership, the central “framing” of the project, is to facilitate more restoration actions by private landowners in and along streams across the state to improve freshwater health in a more timely manner. The emerging Stream Restoration Partnership approach focuses on using new tools and new thinking to address institutional barriers to efficient restoration actions, primarily in the project funding and permitting arenas, and in ways that enhance efficiency without sacrificing project quality.
The desired outcomes of bringing efficiencies to restoration projects include:
- comprehensive advancement of needed project development elements,
- improved, timely permitting processes for voluntary restoration projects,
- more efficient movement of restoration dollars to the ground,
- improved ability to focus time on landowner outreach and project development instead of paperwork, and
- greater ecological and local economic benefit from this work through increased scale of actions.
- greater landowner interest in restoration.
The impetus for a collaborative approach to stream restoration comes from the current situation where, despite growing threats to already compromised freshwater resources and rural communities, a system of long planning, funding and permitting cycles can discourage landowners from undertaking projects. By addressing project permitting and funding barriers, the Stream Restoration Partnership can facilitate more restoration actions by landowners.
In late 2006, Oregon Trout began development of a web-based software tool to simplify and expedite the process of funding, permitting and implementing stream restoration projects. The tool seeks to accelerate the restoration of freshwater ecosystems, enabling landowners, restoration professionals, agencies and private funders to take effective action within a meaningful timeframe. It advances ecologically needed restoration projects in a way that benefits the rural workforce and empowers local landowners and communities to better control their future.
In alignment with the project, the Department of State Lands is also streamlining its authorization process for restoration projects. Creating more efficient electronic permitting options and regulatory processes will enable well-designed stream restoration projects to be implemented on a significant scale for the benefit of Oregon’s freshwater health.
DSL and The Freshwater Trust have now worked together for a number of years to improve the systems for funding, permitting, and implementing restoration projects. These efforts are bearing fruit. In both 2008 and 2009, DSL undertook numerous steps to clarify and simplify the regulatory processes related to restoration actions, including new legislation that will exempt certain restoration actions from state permits, and TFT continues to pilot its StreamBank project around the state, now with EPA and DEQ as major partners.
- 2010 Plan Final Draft
 [pdf]
- 2009 Plan [pdf]
- 2008 Plan [pdf]
- General Areas of Agreement [pdf]
- Current Status and Opportunities [pdf]
- ODFW - Culvert Toolbox [pdf]
- Oregon Plan Background [pdf]
- Streambank Pilot Project RFP, 2008 Final [pdf]
- Pilot Project Objectives [pdf]
- Map of Pilot Projects [pdf]
- Streambank Powerpoint Presentation 9-30-08 [pdf]
- Project Request Letter to Governor Kulongoski [pdf]
- Streambank Project Designation Letter [pdf]
- Oregon Solutions project team meeting February 22, 2008 [pdf]
- Oregon Solutions project team meeting April 4, 2008 [pdf]
- Measuring StreamBank with EcoMetrix [pdf]
- Department of State Lands E-Permit Strategy [pdf]
- Stream Restoration Partnership One Page Overview [pdf]
- Stream Restoration Partnership Declaration of Cooperation January 2010 [pdf]
- Link to Oregon Trout: StreamBank Restoration Made Easy by Mitch Lies, Capital Press [link]
- Link to Oregon Trout Press Release Web-based Streambank® first in the nation to help landowners cut through
permitting and funding red tape [link]
- Oregon Public Broadcasting Software could speed up stream bank recovery projects [link]
- The Oregonian, Evolve of die: It's crunch time for the Willamette River, November 28, 2009 [link]
- Project Convener: Ken Bailey
- Project Manager: Pete Dalke
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