Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program
Forecasted
Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program supports local entities in funding voluntary water rights transactions that restore tributary flows and protect native fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin.
Funder: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): May 2027 (Request for Proposals deadline)
Funding Amounts: Funding provided by Bonneville Power Administration, with additional U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service support
Summary: Supports voluntary water rights transactions that restore stream flows and protect native fish habitat in Columbia River Basin tributaries.
Key Information: The program works through locally based entities in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
Description
The Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program (CBWTP), administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was established in 2002 to address chronically diminished stream flows in tributaries of the Columbia River. Legal water withdrawals, including crop irrigation, leave many waterways low or dry during summer and early fall, limiting the productivity of Pacific salmon, steelhead trout and resident fish species.
The program works through locally based entities to acquire water rights voluntarily from willing landowners. It supports temporary and permanent acquisitions and other incentive-based approaches that restore flows to key fish habitat. This voluntary, market-based approach seeks to balance out-of-stream water uses with the healthy flows native fish need for survival, resilience and persistence.
