Clean and abundant water is the most essential resource for the wellbeing of communities, working lands, wildlife, and economies. Paradoxically we’re experiencing more intense droughts, hotter weather and increasingly intense storm cycles, and ecosystems, communities, and economies have to adapt to this new reality. Addressing these complex challenges require collaborative solutions and public-private partnerships.
Teton Valley This is the project that launched LegacyWorks, and its ever-expanding impact is a testament to the power of well-facilitated collaborative efforts among committed local partners. Since the collaborative’s 2014 launch through a grant from the LOR Foundation, work has centered around protecting …
Jackson, Teton Valley In 2022, a task force developed around concerns regarding issues facing the watershed including flows from Jackson Lake dam, water quality, habitat degradation, drought, and climate change. With the help of LegacyWorks Group, this small group spiraled into the Snake River Headwaters Watershed Group (SRHWG)..…
Jackson, Teton Valley Dedicated to enhancing water quality and minimizing pollution, JHCWC is a collaborative of local organizations in the Teton region. Originally sparked by pollution in Fish Creek, JHCWC’s Trout Friendly Lawn program provides guidelines for ecosystem-conscious lawn care. Public engagement is a ...
Teton Valley Declining snowpack and increased downstream water demand threaten the Upper Snake River watersheds. The Upper Snake Collaborative, a group of nonprofits and stakeholders, aims to address these challenges by creating a 60,000-acre foot carry-over in Island Park Reservoir to allow water managers …
Teton Basin The Teton Basin Water Users Association was formed in 2018 to address water availability issues in Teton Valley. Population growth and changing land use are depleting the aquifer, causing shifts in groundwater hydrology. The association, along with LegacyWorks Group, Friends of the Teton River,...
Sentinel Landscapes are federally designated priority areas that contain high priority lands for multiple federal and state agencies along with military installations of national importance to the Department of Defense. LegacyWorks Group is supporting the evolution of the program at the national and local levels to better enable each Sentinel Landscape Partnership to set and achieve highly ambitious, landscape scale conservation, community and climate resilience goals.
The Goleta Riparian Corridor Wildfire Risk Reduction & Restoration Project was funded by a California Coastal Conservancy Grant and builds on initial planning work by the Environmental Defense Center that identified wildfire risks and restoration opportunities in numerous sites within twelve watersheds.
Wyatt Penfold is a lifelong Teton Valley farmer, just like his father and grandfather. He grows potatoes, quinoa and other grains in the fertile soil that abuts the west slope of the Tetons. Wyatt is feisty and entrepreneurial and struggles to sit still. He lights up when he talks about water. With a combination of flood irrigation and center pivot sprinklers systems, Wyatt can produce amazing crops even in our extreme conditions.
Our Santa Barbara team has the great pleasure of living and working in the Santa Barbara region, while also interfacing with our teams working in the northern Rockies and in southern Baja California Sur. While far apart, all the communities we work with are facing the worst drought in the historical record, exacerbating long term challenges around water quality and water supply. Frustratingly, it can be remarkably difficult to get straightforward data on the state of our water.
In partnership with the Baja Coastal Institute, we have completed a thorough investigation of water resources in the four watersheds that make up the greater Cabo del Este region between La Paz and Los Cabos.
In November 2019, 60+ engaged actors explored Baja California Sur’s Cabo del Este region aboard the MV Sea Lion. The journey was designed to engage and harness the collective wisdom of participants.
In 2016, the most popular public access point for the Teton River came up for sale. We mobilized a collaborative of conservation partners to protect it for public use forever.
