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Local CWMA seeks county contribution after grant success; requests funds for GIS and capacity
Summary
The Grama Cooperative Weed Management Area reported 2024 treatment work and requested county support to cover GIS and capacity needs to pursue additional grants and expand invasive-weed projects in 2025.
Hannah, representing the Grama Cooperative Weed Management Area, told the Klamath County Board of Commissioners the CWMA completed multiple invasive-weed treatments in 2024 and is seeking county funding to retain grant-writing and GIS capacity for 2025.
Hannah said the CWMA’s 2024 work included a Dyers Road roadside treatment (75 miles treated), phase-two work along a Gulch Fire boundary, a Bonanza-area treatment on non-jurisdictional public access roads, aquatic-invasive outreach and a yellow-flag iris treatment near Upper Klamath Lake. She said partners provided cash and in-kind support and that anticipated funding for the 2025 Dyers Road treatment is $91,000, which includes cash funds from Green Diamond and ODFW.
The CWMA reported the following 2024 and early-2025 funding figures: the original $5,000 from the county helped secure an additional $10,000 in cash and $70,000 in grants for 2024; for 2025 the CWMA reported $4,000 in cash on hand, $18,000 in grants received, and $87,000 anticipated in grants. Hannah said writing additional grants requires more capacity and that she can commit 50 percent of her time to the CWMA because she also works for a resource district.
Hannah requested an initial county contribution of $20,000 to cover an annual GIS account and to provide 50 percent of the CWMA’s capacity funds used to write grants and coordinate partners. Board members indicated support for continuing county funding at a smaller amount immediately: one commissioner said, “I think we should probably go ahead and give her another $5,000 a week control funds like we did last year,” and two commissioners said they would include the contribution in upcoming budget workshops.
The board did not adopt a formal appropriation at the meeting; commissioners asked that the requested contribution be considered during budget-workshop planning. The CWMA also said it hopes to expand community outreach events, including “paddle and pull” aquatic removal events run with students from Oregon Institute of Technology and Oregon State University.
The board praised Hannah’s remote coordination work and asked staff to include the request in the budget process for formal consideration.
