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Board hears riparian funding options and roundtable implementation package
Summary
RCO staff previewed potential riparian program changes, including funding-renewal options for multi‑year riparian portfolios, a common application template, and broader riparian strategy work by the roundtable; board members signaled interest in aligning riparian requests with the conservation commission.
RCO policy staff briefed the board on riparian priorities and a riparian roundtable implementation package that is expected to reach a final form by November. Nick Norton, Policy and Planning Specialist at RCO, described three near‑term areas under consideration: a possible funding‑renewal option to allow reviewed riparian portfolios to continue work without a long pause, development of a common site template to harmonize program requests, and modest policy clarifications rather than sweeping eligibility changes.
Norton said the roundtable facilitators are drafting an "implementation package" and that staff expect the next round of substantive conversations in July and a final package in November. Director‑level staff cautioned that outcomes will be shaped by the new governor's budget and by OFM and legislative responses to the roundtable's recommendations. "There's not a lot of huge changes coming up in terms of big changes to eligibility, more kind of very minor clarifications," Norton said.
Board members discussed whether riparian funding should be elevated to parity with other state programs (the conservation commission's program was cited as reference), and generally supported keeping riparian funding within an integrated funding approach that complements the regular surfboard and targeted investment tracks. Members asked staff to present options and metrics on how the riparian program might be sized and explained to legislators in August and September.
