Conservation groups, farmers and ranchers urge funding for OWEB programs, easement matches and drinking-water protection

Co-Chair Frederick Levy and Co-Chair (name not specified) opened a public hearing Wednesday of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources on House Bill 5039 and House Bill 5040, the appropriation and local grants budget bills for the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB).

Speakers from land trusts, conservation organizations, agricultural groups and rural producers urged the subcommittee to preserve and increase funding for several OWEB programs, including the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program (OAHP), the drinking-water source protection grant program and the Natural and Working Lands Fund, and to fund staff positions needed to administer those programs.

The testimony matters because those state investments are designed to leverage federal matching funds, protect working farms and ranches from fragmentation, support drinking-water source protection for small communities, and sustain OWEB’s capacity to award and manage grants. Carson Kendrick, conservation director for the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, said the coalition “represents 33 land trusts…Collectively, our members…