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Greenbelt Land Trust says OWEB process drove it to decline a $1 million award
Summary
Greenbelt Land Trust withdrew from an OWEB-funded acquisition because agency contingencies and proof requirements tied to trails and staff capacity created unworkable burdens; the organization returned a $1,000,000 award rather than accept what it described as overly prescriptive conditions.
Claire Fox, conservation director at Greenbelt Land Trust, described the Oak Creek Preserve fee-acquisition that was recommended for OWEB funding but stalled under a sequence of contingency requests. Greenbelt said staff were asked for extensive memos and analyses to prove low or zero conservation impacts from a conceptual trail plan, and that those requirements applied even before closing on the property.
"Over the course of several months, we witnessed hurdle after hurdle to prove that our proposed trail and related infrastructure would have 0 impact on the conservation values," Fox said. She said the burden of proof and a persistent sense of distrust led Greenbelt to conclude that continuing would drain scarce staff capacity and would be counterproductive; Greenbelt rescinded the award and turned down the $1,000,000 funding.
Board members and staff acknowledged the case and asked staff to bring a detailed case study back to the committee. Staff said they regretted any impression of distrust and that some procedural boxes could be revisited, including whether accreditation or other verification could reduce duplicative evidence requests.
