Umatilla Tribe and basin stakeholders ask Oregon for $2.5 million to implement Walla Walla Water 2050 plan

Toby Patrick, member-at-large for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, asked the Joint Ways and Means Committee to fund Oregon's share of Walla Walla Water 2050 implementation. Patrick said the plan was developed collaboratively with Oregon and Washington water users, basin stakeholders and tribes to provide a roadmap for cooperative water management.

"Walla Walla means lands of many waters," Patrick said, and he described the basin's historic salmon fisheries as "first foods," urging the committee to help restore fisheries and support water conservation and public-safety projects. Patrick asked Oregon for $2,500,000 to match a like amount included in Washington's budget and said the request would build on more than $10 million already dedicated to the basin by the tribe and federal partners.

Travis Crumble, district manager for the Walla Walla River Irrigation District, and other basin irrigators noted that the basin crosses state lines and that prior statutory and regulatory differences had complicated cooperative management. Crumble supported the 2050 plan implementation funding, saying basin stakeholders have worked to coordinate changes across the state line and seek implementation resources.

Why this matters: Speakers said matched funding would support conservation for farmers, improved…