SNAPSHOT
Along the banks of the Methow River near Winthrop, on land that has been in his family for 100 years, Charlie Lehman remembers. “When I was a kid, I used to catch 25-pound fish right here,” he says. Thanks to a series of voluntary agreements with WRC, Charlie is providing a major lift to fish and wildlife by permanently restoring and protecting 4 cubic feet per second of his water right as streamflow. In addition, WRC has helped him achieve a 72 percent improvement to irri- gation efficiency that allows him to raise corn and hay with less water and to conserve management time for other projects on the farm. Meanwhile, about 8 miles of meandering side channels will now have sufficient water to reconnect with the Methow, revitalizing refuge habitats that are in short supply.
PARTNERS: Barkley Irrigating Company, Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Okanogan Conservation District, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington State Conservation Commission.
Along the banks of the Methow River near Winthrop, on land that has been in his family for 100 years, Charlie Lehman remembers. “When I was a kid, I used to catch 25-pound fish right here,” he says. Thanks to a series of voluntary agreements with WRC, Charlie is providing a major lift to fish and wildlife by permanently restoring and protecting 4 cubic feet per second of his water right as streamflow. In addition, WRC has helped him achieve a 72 percent improvement to irri- gation efficiency that allows him to raise corn and hay with less water and to conserve management time for other projects on the farm. Meanwhile, about 8 miles of meandering side channels will now have sufficient water to reconnect with the Methow, revitalizing refuge habitats that are in short supply.
PARTNERS: Barkley Irrigating Company, Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Okanogan Conservation District, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington State Conservation Commission.
