For years, Leslie Bach studied Spanish. She’d pop cassettes into a walkman on her belt and listen to language tapes while making dinner.

Bach, the Oregon director of freshwater programs, has been involved in the Conservancy’s work in Latin America for the last nine years. Her now-proficient language skills and freshwater expertise have taken her to Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia. 

Last year, Bach traveled to Colombia to work with local agencies and Conservancy colleagues in developing environmental flow recommendations for the Guatiquia River in Chingaza National Park — in the country’s high elevation grasslands. The river is dammed and used as a major source of drinking water for Bogota, the capital city.

Natural flows of rivers and streams are critical to the health and viability of freshwater ecosystems, yet also provide vital resources for human communities. Often, though, the storage and diversion of water can alter seasonal flow patterns, stressing fish and wildlife adapted to more natural rhythms. Environmental flow restoration work identifies the ecosystem needs for water and then integrates that information into water management decisions to improve ecological conditions while still meeting human needs.

In Oregon, Bach has been working in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine environmental flow requirements for the Willamette River and its tributaries. The Corps has begun using the information to shape seasonal flows from dams on key Willamette tributaries.

“The Willamette work is used as a case study and serves as a demonstration site for global efforts to influence water management,” Bach said.

In Colombia last spring, team members brought their boots for wading in rivers and streams. They visited sites in the foggy, rolling hills of the paramo ecosystem and engaged in planning meetings with partners. Currently, they’re collecting and compiling data. This year, the teams plan to convene a workshop of local experts to develop target flow recommendations and a monitoring plan.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Stephen Anderson/TNC (Willamette River, Oregon).