Wow! What an incredible 20th Anniversary Year!
While finalizing this year’s annual report, some of the feedback we received was “It’s kind of
long, can you make it any shorter?” The truth is that we can’t – there is just too much to share!
Download our Annual Report Here
By the numbers
All those facts and figures tell an important part of the council’s story and the growth of our
impact. Last year the council stewarded 33 active grants and contracts – this coming year that
number has nearly doubled to over 62! Those 62 grants and contracts represent just over $1
million of grant funding directed to this watershed community to do the work you support. The
truth is that funding only gets directed to the Long Tom because of meaningful and consistent
community investment.
The majority of those grants require significant local match. Funders want to know that the
projects are supported by local communities, they are a local priority, and that local partners
have some skin in the game on realizing success in the long term.
The strongest way to demonstrate that support is to show local investment and matching dollars
from the watershed community. In other words, it depends upon you!
Donations represented about 16% of our funding picture last year, but what that piece of the pie
represents is the power to make all the other pieces of the pie possible. Your gifts are the
linchpin for our work toward a healthier Long Tom Watershed! We simply cannot
accomplish this scale of impact without your generous support.
Beyond the numbers
What our chocked-full annual report also includes are lots and lots of names!
If you’ve ever heard me talk about the council, you’ve probably heard me include the reminder
that this watershed is about 90% privately owned. When I say that we don’t get much done
unless private landowners and members of the community want it done, I mean it! These
are the names of all our project landowner partners, and our council supporters for the year!
With a few exceptions like our work on the Willamette mainstem with the US Fish & Wildlife
Service, and with the City of Eugene to enhance oak habitat on the Eugene ridgeline for
example, the vast majority of our work happens on private, often working, lands where people
build their lives and businesses. The continued commitment to help landowners balance habitat
enhancement with earning a living on the land is one of the things that makes our council so
unique. That focus is a continued reflection of the spirit of the Oregon Plan for Salmon &
Watersheds crafted over 20 years ago, and continues to be at the core of our mission and
priority. Private lands are the heart of this work. Continuing to build relationships and find
solutions with urban and rural private landowners is essential to realizing the incredible
opportunities for enduring, high-quality, habitat enhancement work in the Long Tom Watershed.
All of that depends upon your support for our unique and successful process, and your
participation as stakeholders in this thoughtful and sincere approach.