November 2, 2015
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Brandon Hoffner
For Immediate Release
(208) 652-3567
HFF Water-Quality Monitoring receives Cross Charitable Foundation grant
ASHTON – The Henry’s Fork Foundation’s long-term project to monitor water quality
throughout the Henry’s Fork watershed got a funding boost from the Cross Charitable
Foundation with a grant of $25,000 for work to be done next year.
The Henry’s Fork Foundation is just finishing its second year of the monitoring project,
estimated to cost $310,000 for equipment and operation over the first three years.
HFF has established seven of 11 proposed stations at strategic locations along the river and its
major tributaries. At each station, an automated data sonde continuously records temperature,
dissolved oxygen, turbidity, water depth, total algae production, and dissolved solids. The
automated data is supplemented with laboratory analysis of phosphorus and suspended
sediment concentrations, two key parameters that cannot be measured by the sondes.
The Foundation plans to purchase and install the last three sondes next summer, completing a
network that will provide data for the next 20 years or more. Data can be shared with other
agencies that work within the watershed.
“The generous support of the Cross Charitable Foundation helps to ensure the health of the
river and its wild trout,” said HFF Executive Director Brandon Hoffner. “The Cross Charitable
Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the Foundation and our work. We thank them for
this grant for this important project.”
The abundance and size of wild trout, as well as the abundance of organisms on which trout feed,
are determined in large part by river flow and the physical and biochemical properties of the
PO Box 550, Ashton, ID 83420 Tel: 208.652.3567 henrysfork.org
water. U.S. Geological Survey stream gage stations provide a continuous record of streamflow
but collective understanding of physical and biochemical processes such as sediment- and
nutrient-cycling in the Henry’s Fork lags far behind that of hydrology.
These “water-quality” properties influence reproductive success, survival, and growth of wild
trout. Without continuous monitoring of background conditions, it is impossible to assess the
effects of restoration projects, new infrastructure, or changes in management actions.
The Henry's Fork Foundation is the only organization whose sole focus is the conservation,
protection, and restoration of the unique fisheries, wildlife, and aesthetic qualities of the Henry's
Fork of the Snake River watershed. HFF’s 3,000 members come from virtually every state and a
number of foreign countries.
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