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Partnership for Lake Abert and Chewaucan Basin seeks planning support in public hearing on House Bill 3114
Summary
House Bill 3114, aimed at continuing collaboration and planning for Lake Abert and the Chewaucan River watershed, drew testimony from landowners, conservation groups and facilitators who described a partnership that formed after drying events at Lake Abert and stressed multi-generational stewardship and next-step implementation work.
House Bill 3114 received public testimony on March 19 from a coalition of landowners, conservation organizations and facilitators working on Lake Abert and the Chewaucan River watershed.
Tess Baker of Paisley, representing landowners in the Shee-waken Basin, said the partnership formed after an Oregonian article and drying events at Lake Abert catalyzed collaboration among agriculture and conservation interests. Baker described the group as multi-generational and focused on developing shared solutions to sustain both livelihoods and wildlife; she said the partnership includes 15 voting members, five tribes and 65 other participants and credited initial state drought-package funding for enabling the group's formation.
Ryan Houston of the Oregon Natural Desert Association described accomplishments including a formal charter, a comprehensive report synthesizing science and indigenous knowledge, a hydrologic model and a list of research needs. Trevor Hildebrand of Oregon Consensus and Portland State University described Oregon Consensus's facilitation role and noted the partnership as a high-potential example of collaboration in a complex basin.
Committee co-chairs and members noted the lake's fluctuating condition and commended the group for continuing work even when immediate drought conditions eased. Witnesses said the next phase is to develop a strategic action plan and to begin technical project development and testing so the partnership can implement measures when needed. The committee closed the public hearing; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript excerpt.
