County signs agreement with Great River Greening to match $1.1M in Outdoor Heritage Fund grants

Benton County commissioners voted May 20 to approve an agreement with Great River Greening to secure and administer habitat restoration work funded largely by an Outdoor Heritage Fund grant.

County staff presented the agreement as a continuation of last year’s logging-cleanup and restoration partnership. Great River Greening, a nonprofit specializing in forest and prairie restorations, is expected to bring approximately $1,100,000 in grant funding through the Outdoor Heritage Fund for work on approximately 199 county acres. The proposed county local match is $34,000, payable from timber sale proceeds (about $32,000 available) with the remainder from the county’s capital improvement fund.

The board discussed the match source and how prior timber-sale proceeds were used for the project's initial match. After brief discussion, commissioners approved the agreement and appropriation of $34,000 (shifted from timber-sale funds plus CIP to cover the remainder) to support the work.

Project activities described in the agreement include controlled burns, mechanical removal of invasive woody species such as Siberian elm, honeysuckle and buckthorn, prairie restoration, thinning of wooded areas, subcontracting and RFP administration by Great River Greening, and multi-year site oversight running through June 30, 2029. Staff emphasized Great River Greening’s technical expertise and prior performance as reasons to continue the partnership.

County staff said the work will be tracked under the county’s CIP and that Great River Greening will manage much of the grant administration and subcontracting under the agreement.

The board carried the motion to approve the agreement.