Research
Early findings from the benchmark
Benchmark Aggregate
What do 50 restoration portfolios look like when federal and state data are assembled into one picture? The aggregate below reports population medians — no individual organization is identified. The same instruments are applied to each organization individually in a real engagement.
Key Findings
Across 50 Pacific Northwest restoration organizations:
- Approximately 80% show at least one structural portfolio conflict.
- Organizations with the most interacting conflicts operate in watersheds with approximately 3.5x more fish passage barriers than conflict-free organizations.
- Funding burden and institutional burden are distributed independently across the sector.
- The portfolio complexity score captures structural demands that a simple grant count misses.
The two systems that load work onto restoration organizations do not see each other. The correlation between portfolio structural complexity and institutional recovery commitments is effectively zero.
Read the Full Paper
Portfolio Complexity in Ecological Restoration — methodology, findings, limitations, and implications (5,800 words).
Methodology draws on portfolio risk theory (Qu 2019), institutional capability research (Andrews et al. 2017), and information credibility frameworks (Cash & Clark 2003). Full references in the paper.
Five Pressures, One Desk
The hatchery question, treaty rights, angler frustration, a federal funding cliff, and competing accounts of what is happening. A companion essay on the operating environment (~1,500 words).
Designed Around the Fish
What would restoration look like if the system were built for what it’s trying to save? Five architectural failures in the current funding system — and five design principles for a system organized around watersheds and biological calendars (~3,500 words).
More from the Benchmark
Findings →
Individual insights from the benchmark, each verified against the dataset
Funding Exposure Report →
Federal funding exposure across 50 restoration portfolios
Sector Watch →
Policy developments affecting restoration portfolio structure
Ground Truth →
Test your instincts. Can you spot the structural conflict before the numbers confirm it?
Curious what your portfolio looks like?
Freehold assembles the structural picture that no single funding source can see.
Ben Parker, Freehold Advisory | April 2026 | Washington State
Coding, data assembly, and presentation assisted by Claude AI.