Silver Falls State Park. Courtesy Oregon Parks and Recreation.
It wasn’t all that long ago that the Oregon State Parks system was on the brink of collapse. After years of budget cuts, park maintenance had fallen so far behind that more than five dozen state parks were in danger of shutting down.
But a group of Oregonians came to the rescue, and in 1998 voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure dedicating 15% of lottery revenues to fund state parks, protect watersheds, and restore habitat for fish and wildlife.
That measure expires in a few years. So with time running out, many of the same supporters are working on a new ballot measure to make the funding permanent.
Currently known as the Water, Parks and Wildlife measure, the work that’s needed to get it on the ballot is just getting underway. The official kick off is expected later this month when supporters start gathering signatures.
What It Means For Parks
One of the groups behind it is the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association. ORPA’s Amanda Rich says that before the 1998 measure was approved, “state parks were in a dreadful state of disrepair.”
There was a maintenance backlog of more than $100 million. The Parks and Recreation Department was so short of money it couldn’t meet payroll and pay for upkeep. Department spokesman Chris Havel says some park buildings were so dilapidated that you could “push your fist through the roof.” 64 parks were put on a closure list.
So far, about two-thirds of the money available for repairs and updates has been spent.
But the 1998 measure didn’t just keep parks open, it provided money to create new ones.
A trail at Stub Stewart State Park. Photo from Oregon Parks and Recreation.
Perhaps the best known example is Stub Stewart State Park in Washington County. This 1600 acre park opened in 2007, the first new full service park in more than three decades.
But there have been others – Thompson’s Mills Heritage Site near Albany, Crissey Field by Brookings and later this year the opening of Beaver Creek Natural Area near Waldport. Oregon has opened a new park every year since 2005.
The next big opening is the Cottonwood Canyon project along the John Day River near Condon. Current plans call for an 8,000 acre park, plus another possible 8,000 acres of additional recreation area. That would make it, by far, the biggest state park in Oregon. It’s expected to open in 2014.
Havel says lottery funding is what makes all this possible. It gives Parks and Recreation a reliable source of money, allowing them to plan projects years in advance. “There’s been an era of support for the state park system that Oregon has never seen before,” he says.
The Parks Department gets about 41% of its funding from the lottery. It receives nothing from the state’s General Fund. Approving a new ballot measure to keep the money coming is a “life or death” matter for state parks, according to Rich. “We’ll be back in the position of having to close state parks if this measure doesn’t pass.”
Rich says the lottery park money also funds local parks and playgrounds. About $3 million in matching grants will be available this year.
What It Means For Water and Wildlife
The money raised by the ballot measure is split with parks getting half – watersheds and wildlife getting the rest.
Stephen Anderson with the Nature Conservancy in Oregon says that’s important for the state’s natural resources.
The money helped preserve 1700 acres of the Table Rocks near Medford. Another area being protected is Zumwalt Prairie in Wallowa County.
Most of this money is administered by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB). OWEB’s mission is to work on a voluntary basis with landowners and watershed councils to restore stream and salmon habitat. OWEB has helped pay for hundreds of these projects, affecting every county in Oregon. This is what’s called the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. Federal efforts to restore salmon runs have little impact on private lands. The Oregon Plan was created to fill in that gap.
While most of these projects are small, Anderson says they’re now a critical part of the state’s economy, supporting local businesses and putting people to work. Anderson says, “We want to make sure these jobs will be there in the future.”
Passing the update ballot measure this fall, says Anderson, “Will give Oregonians what they want and what’s important, clean water, well maintained parks, healthy fish and wildlife.”
Keep This In Mind
The new Water, Parks and Wildlife ballot measure isn’t a change. It’s a chance for Oregon voters to say they want to keep 15% of lottery money going to these causes on a permanent basis. And because the money comes from the lottery, voting for it won’t raise taxes. Voting against won’t lower them.
For More Information
Oregonians For Water, Parks and Wildlife
