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OWEB staff preview CREP technical-assistance awards as applicants request $1.8M
Summary
OWEB staff told the Partnerships & Capacity Committee that 14 CREP technical assistance applications requested $1.8 million for the 2025–27 biennium; staff said NRCS has indicated willingness to fund technical support and that OWEB will likely set a funding line to match available dollars before October board decisions.
Courtney Schaff, monitoring and reporting program manager for the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, told the committee that the CREP technical assistance grants play a role in implementing riparian buffers on private agricultural lands and that OWEB received 14 applications requesting a total of $1.8 million for the 2025–27 cycle.
Heidi Hartman, who manages federal grant programs, summarized CREP as “a cooperative venture between the state of Oregon and Farm Service Agency,” and described partner roles including the Natural Resources Conservation Service and local watershed councils. Hartman reviewed recent biennial results: 2019 saw 14 applications (12 funded, about $1.2 million), 2021 funded nine of ten applications (about $1.0 million), and 2023–25 funded 11 applications totaling nearly $1.5 million.
Committee members asked whether NRCS had committed funding for technical support; Hartman said NRCS has “reached out, and they would like to give us money for technical support,” and staff are “working through the federal cooperative agreement logistics.” When cochair Lindsay McCleary noted the $1.8 million requested versus roughly $1.6 million available, Schaff clarified that OWEB does not reduce applicant requests during review and that staff expect to establish a funding line and present recommendations at the October full-board meeting.
Staff outlined next steps: evaluations by Heidi and Courtney, coordination with OWEB executive staff on a funding line, and notification to applicants when staff reports are released ahead of the October meeting. Courtney said OWEB will use quarterly CREP “office hours” to support technicians, and will continue coordinating with NRCS and FSA about training and cultural-resource review issues raised by applicants.
The committee did not take a formal vote; staff said the board will be asked to make funding decisions in October where necessary to ensure transparency and public comment.
