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Land‑trusts and applicants urge commission to devote biennial funds to easements and create a rubric
Summary
Speakers from the Oregon Agricultural Trust and Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts urged the commission to allocate the $1,760,000 to easements, asked that unspent prior funds be directed to the easement program, and requested the commission develop a scoring rubric and convene applicant panels.
Two public commenters representing applicants and land‑trust networks told the commission the working‑land easement program has the greatest capacity for match funding and the most immediate potential for permanent conservation.
"I wanna support the staff recommendation of allocating the entire $1,760,000 in available grant funds to OAHP's Working Land Easements and Covenants Grant Program," said Nellie McAdams, executive director of Oregon Agricultural Trust. She asked that any unspent or returned funds from prior OHP grant rounds be directed to the easement program and urged the commission to develop a scoring rubric sooner rather than later.
Carson Kendrick of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts echoed that support and emphasized the need for applicant engagement: "COLT supports these continued discussions between the commission, OWEB staff, and program applicants on the scoring rubric with just an interest in increasing program transparency and ensuring applicants know which projects are a good fit for OAHP funds." Both commenters offered to participate in a panel to advise the commission on rubric development.
