Watershed Coalition Building & River-Friendly Living Efforts

The RFL Program is OTR’s education and outreach platform to build an informed and engaged community that cares for the Truckee River. The program is divided into four main branches which provide a wide range of options for caring for the Truckee River.  As outlined on OTR’s RFL website page the four areas are: 1) Individual Actions: ways for individuals to care for the river at home, on the go, and when visiting the river; 2) Yards: ways for residents to design and maintain residential yards to reduce urban runoff and  pollution that can flow to the river through the storm drain system; 3) Neighborhoods: ways for homeowners’ associations and new housing developments to design and maintain water conveyance in ways that protect the river; and 4) Voices and Hands: ways for citizens to engage in the public process and volunteer to care for the river.

OTR will increase the public’s understanding of the Truckee River, and RFL best practices, by  building OTR’s social media platforms. These platforms give OTR the ability to continually increase the number of people exposed to OTR information, drive more people to OTR website where they can sign up to stay in touch and access educational content on protecting the Truckee River, and distribute quarterly OTR newsletters.

With the Project work, existing research and plans that are relevant and will be considered are the: OTR Management Plan, OTR Truckee Meadows Landscaping Focus Group Summary Report, OTR River-Friendly Neighborhoods Program Summary Report Recommendations, and OTR River-Friendly Neighborhood Guidelines. In addition to, other similar model programs including the Truckee River Watershed Council’s River-Friendly Landscapes in Truckee, CA; Localscapes in Salt Lake, UT; The Waterwise Community Center in Chino Basin, CA; SNWA’s Water Smart Program in Las Vegas, NV; Spokanescapes in Spokane, WA; and Colorado Waterwise program in Denver, CO.

TMWA Benefit:

OTR’s proposed Project supports Truckee River Fund’s Grant Priorities: IV. Local Stormwater Improvements and VII. Stewardship and Environmental Awareness.

Local Stormwater Improvements: OTR’s Watershed Coalition Building efforts develop project concepts, partners, and fundraises to implement projects developed under OTR’s Watershed Coalition efforts to mitigate stormwater runoff to the Truckee River in the Reno/Sparks urban core. Some current OTR projects developed, funded, and underway due to our Watershed Coalition efforts include OTR’s RFL demonstration garden at Lake Park in Reno, OTR’s Water Trail work that installed a third Portland Loo at Reno’s City Plaza in June of 2024, and OTR’s Urban Restoration effort leading – in collaboration with Nevada Land Trust – a Technical Working Group focused on regional coordinated vegetation management and future restoration projects along the Truckee River in the Reno/Sparks urban core.

Stewardship and Environmental Awareness: OTR’s RFL efforts include online education targeting adults in the Truckee Meadows to increase their understanding of the importance of the Truckee River and actions each resident can make to support watershed protection through OTR’s RFL online material, social media posts, newsletters, and blogs that can be found at www.onetruckeeriver.org/river-friendly-living.