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Columbia Land Trust says OWEB easement compatibility requirement sank a 2,000-acre deal
Summary
Columbia Land Trust described a project where an existing Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation easement could not be subordinated to OWEB's required easement, prompting the Elk Foundation to refuse and causing the OWEB-funded transaction to fail; Columbia reported substantial staff and funding losses.
Nate Ulrich of Columbia Land Trust described a multi-year effort to conserve nearly 2,000 acres south of The Dalles. An existing conservation easement held by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation covered two-thirds of the parcel and reduced acquisition costs, but OWEB required that the RMEF easement subordinate to OWEB's required instrument. The Elk Foundation refused because subordination would have risked its own accreditation and standards, and the project collapsed.
"As a result, the project failed," Ulrich said, describing lost staff and contractor costs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in matching funds that were not realized. He and other panelists argued that alternative instruments (for example, notices of funding or deed-based rights used elsewhere) could have protected the state's financial interest without requiring subordination of an existing easement.
OWEB staff heard the example and committed to review the specifics of the case and to explore whether implementation changes or alternative instruments could avoid similar outcomes going forward.
