ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the evolving institutional setting governing instream flows in the West and provides a comprehensive review of the role of markets in restoring stream flows. The John Day River and its tributaries in eastern Oregon are home to one of the largest and last-remaining populations of Spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead as well as the state's only population of westslope cutthroat trout. Oregon Water Trust (OWT), a private nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving freshwater ecosystems, approached the conflict between senior diversion rights. The modern system of water rights in the West, known as prior-appropriation, can be traced to the mining camps of California in the mid-nineteenth century. Conservation groups for assistance in facilitating trades for environmental purposes. Abolishing restrictions on who may acquire or hold water rights for instream uses would increase the opportunities for trade and expand water markets.
