Annual meetings give water transaction organizations a chance to gather and learn

Three of our Deschutes River Conservancy staff members recently returned from the 2012 Fall QLE meeting in Washington. Qualified Local Entities, or QLEs are organizations under the Columbia Basin Water Transaction Program with missions to restore stream flows to the tributaries of the Columbia River. Managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, the eleven QLEs throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana meet annually in a different watershed to learn from each other.

“The QLE meetings a great resource for our staff to interact with other organizations doing similar work around the Columbia Basin,” said Scott McCaulou, DRC Program Director. “It’s a time to learn from our peers, to examine conservation projects happening throughout the Northwest and bring those good ideas back to the Deschutes.”

This year’s meeting was centered around water conservation projects being managed by the Washington Water Trust and the Trout Unlimited Washington Water Project. QLE attendees were able to tour the project sites and ask detailed questions about the planning and implementation processes.