INR Projects related to Water Resources:

Coastal Community Water Supply -- Economic development and diversification on the Oregon Coast frequently are constrained by municipal and industrial water supply limitations. Without comprehensive information, economic development officials find it difficult to match prospects with specific communities. At the same time, cities and other water suppliers are required by the Oregon Water Resources Department to prepare Water Management and Conservation Plans. Yet, coastal communities are hard pressed to prepare these plans because many lack even basic information about their systems, their customers and the environmental concerns they will face as they attempt to meet their future water needs. Working with Sea Grant funding, the Institute is gathering information about water suppliers, rights and availability and research and analysis needed to help coastal communities address future water supply needs. This project begins to fill information gaps and lays the foundation for a comprehensive assessment.

Final Report, June 2005

Oregon Explorer -- Oregon Explorer is a natural resources digital library and web portal. The goal is to provide easy, rapid access to reliable, up-to-date information about natural resources, empowering citizens through information. INR is developing the Oregon Explorer in collaboration with Oregon State University Libraries and other partners including the University of Oregon's InfoGraphics Lab, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), the Oregon Department of Administrative Services and other state agencies. The Oregon Explorer family of websites brings together several projects focused on different themes. Basin-level portals include the the Willamette Basin Explorer (part of the Willamette Basin Conservation Project), the North Coast Explorer, and the Umpqua Basin Explorer. The Wildfire Risk Explorer is the first topic portal in the Explorer family. The Oregon Explorer program is in the process of developing additional topic portals hosting information about imagery, land use, and wildlife. Read more about these component projects on INR's Oregon Explorer page.

OWEB Acquisition Prioritization -- ORNHIC completed a project for the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) to develop priorities for evaluating acquisition projects. ORNHIC identified priority ecological systems, species and rare plant communities in each of 15 Oregon basins.

Salmon Anchor Habitat Project -- Managing Northwest Oregon state forests for diverse values has proved contentious. Some groups argue that timber production should be the primary purpose of these forests and that forest plans restrict timber harvesting too much. Others contend that forest plans do not adequately protect the best remaining coastal salmon habitats. Ultimately, the 2003 Oregon Legislature directed the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to review its Salmon Anchor Habitat strategy for Northwest Oregon state forests, focusing on its scientific basis, effectiveness, and revenue implications. ODF asked the Institute to convene a Work Group mandated by the Legislature to assure an unbiased approach to the review. INR staff designed a process based on the “consensus conference” model to engage the stakeholders directly with 14 scientific experts, provided research and report writing and moderated a series of meetings, culminating with a final report to the Legislature.

Walla Walla Basin Habitat Conservation Plan -- In an approach founded on sustainability principles, the Walla Walla Watershed Alliance is developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy for restoring the Walla Walla watershed in Washington and Oregon, one of the region’s richest agricultural areas and home to bull trout, salmon and steelhead. The Alliance, which has federal and state funding to prepare a Bi-State Habitat Conservation Plan, asked the Institute for help in several areas, including evaluating methods for protecting in-stream flows and assisting in developing a vision and strategy for long-term stewardship of groundwater resources across state lines.

Watershed Indicators -- A major problem faced in watershed restoration is determining the results achieved by various projects across a basin. OWEB turned to INR to develop standardized watershed indicators for Oregon. INR organized several workshops with experts on monitoring and the development of indicators and completed a comprehensive literature review in the process of developing a recommended set of indicators.