Portland, Ore. - February 25, 2009 - Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) today announced the hiring of two employees for its watershed restoration programs, Kendra Smith and Robert Warren.

Kendra Smith has joined BEF as the Willamette Model Watershed Program Director.  As an ecologist specializing in restoration of streams and wetlands, Smith has created numerous watershed plans, resource assessments, restoration projects, and public policies to protect our natural resources over the last 15 years. While at Clean Water Services, Kendra prepared and implemented the Healthy Streams Plan to help restore the Tualatin River Basin.  In 2000, she earned awards from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Tualatin Riverkeepers for her commitment to advancing ecological restoration and protection strategies.  Smith currently serves on the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's Willamette Region Grant Review Team and Metro's Greenspaces Capital Grants Selection Committee.  She has a bachelor of arts degree in biology and economics from Colby College, a master of science degree in Ecosystems Management from Oregon Graduate Institute, and is a certified floodplain manager.

Robert Warren has joined BEF as the Model Watershed Program Manager and will manage the foundation's watershed restoration grants. Prior to BEF, he worked for The Nature Conservancy of Washington as the Port Susan Bay program manager, planning and executing landscape-scale conservation efforts in the bay and the Stillaguamish River estuary. Before moving to Washington, Robert spent eight years working in a variety of restoration efforts, related research and monitoring in the Columbia River estuary, including stints as the executive director of the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce and executive director of Sea Resources. Robert's bachelor's degree in architecture and master's of science degree in environmental science (with a focus in aquatic ecology) are from the University of Idaho.

About the BEF Model Watershed Program
BEF is dedicated to restoring watershed ecosystems throughout the United States and has committed more than $1.6 million since 1999 to support community-based initiatives that improve water quality, restore habitat, and bolster native salmon and trout populations.
To ensure that the foundation's water investments reinforce scientific and effective restoration strategies, BEF pioneered a comprehensive 10-year Model Watershed approach that enables it to evaluate cumulative progress over time and improve future actions based on measured results.

BEF currently supports five Model Watersheds and is evaluating new projects for addition to the program in 2009. Within each Model Watershed project selected for support, BEF commits to provide scientific support, the services of a professional independent scientific review team and funding for monitoring and assessment over the full duration of the project.  BEF's commitment enables projects to employ a systematic and scientific restoration strategy and ensures that critical restoration needs are identified and addressed at the scales necessary to achieve substantial and lasting ecological improvements. Learn more about BEF's long-term approach to watershed restoration here: http://www.b-e-f.org/watersheds

About the Willamette Model Watershed Program
The Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) is supporting a comprehensive, long-term watershed restoration program in Oregon's Willamette River Basin, focusing not just on the main river but also on developing the health of its tributaries to effect positive change in the whole watershed. Learn more about the Trust's Willamette River Initiative at:
http://www.mmt.org/initiatives/river/

After scrutinizing various working strategies and gathering input from the watershed community, MMT decided that its ideal tributary scenario looked a lot like BEF's Model Watershed program and chose to work with BEF to manage this very exciting initiative together.

Through this partnership, MMT has committed funding that will allow BEF and MMT to work with local watershed groups in up to four comprehensive, 10-year river restoration programs in Willamette River tributaries. Over the long-term, BEF's partnership with MMT and participating local groups will lead to healthier communities, cleaner water, and improved fish and wildlife habitat. BEF expects to rigorously track the results of this initiative over time and provide detailed accounts of the progress, lessons learned, and the results of improved river and stream conditions. BEF will announce more information about this program as it becomes available.

About Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF)