Washington Water Trust

Programs: Washington water trust is a neutral, nonregulatory nonprofit, dedicated to improving and protecting stream flows and water quality throughout washington state. We use voluntary, market-based transactions and cooperative partnerships to create balanced solutions. So fish, agriculture, business and wildlifeupon which we all dependcan thrive. Core programs & goals. Wwt focuses on priority basins throughout the state identified by the washington department of ecology as needing stream flow improvements methow, entiat, nisqually, nooksack, okanogan, puyallup, skagit, spokane, nookachamps, walla walla, wenatchee, yakima, white salmon, klickitat, stillaguamish river basins, san juan islands, and olympic peninsula. Our goals include operating a permanent, proactive water acquisition program; protecting or restoring stream flows while keeping working lands in production; developing water banking alternatives in key basins, water quality/quantity mitigation strategies, advising on water policy, facilitation, education and building partnerships with landowners and key stakeholders across the state and strategic, rapid water rights assessment in our targeted basins. Water rights transactions in 2012, wwt continued with acquisition and mitigation banking in the teanaway valley restoring fish access to 90 percent of the watershed and supporting efforts for creation of the community forest. Working with the confederated tribes of the colville reservation (cct) began expanding project on loup loup creek with the intention of opening the entire creek to fish passage and moving irrigators to a different diversion. We continued to develop assessments for acquisition on antoine valley ranch which could open passage to critical habitat above through antoine creek. In the dungeness, we launched the dungeness water exchange and are moving ahead with purchase of water to seed the exchange, developing recharge projects and delivering mitigation certificates. In the skagit, we completed basin assessments of water rights and their potential to support mitigation efforts in the carpenter-fisher portion of the basin and are moving into the nookachamps with similar work. We began efforts on projects in the pilchuck area and have completed an evaluation and purchase of water rights from the big lake water association in the skagit for both mitigation and restoration. Administration. Washington water trust currently has two full-time project managers, one part-time project manager, one part-time contractor (project associate), one full-time administrative associate and an executive director. Recruitment for a full-time project manager is currently underway. Wwt is also recruiting three new board members for the coming year. We continue to attract volunteers and interns working in both seattle and ellensburg.