Gov. Tina Kotek announced Thursday she will not veto a $45 million award to the Willamette Falls Trust, a nonprofit working to expand public access at the storied waterfall, after its leaders convinced her the funds would be effectively used.
The outlay, which lawmakers tucked into a massive spending bill in the final days of this year’s legislative session, will help the nonprofit purchase dozens of acres of land near Willamette Falls, a site that has recently been the home of intense intertribal conflict.
The Grand Ronde Tribe, which has ancestral connections to the waterfall, urged Kotek in June not to give money to the nonprofit, which is led by former Gov. Kate Brown and includes among its members four other tribes with ancestral ties to the falls.
The chairwoman of the Grand Ronde Tribe called the nonprofit’s plan “misguided” in a June letter to Kotek and said its members were excluded from the development plans. The Willamette Falls Trust pushed back on those claims, saying that the tribe had long been offered opportunities for engagement.
Kotek announced last week she was considering vetoing the award and asked the nonprofit to demonstrate that it had effectively used previous funds and had a sound plan to spend the $45 million.
In two letters dated Thursday provided by Kotek’s office, the organization pledged to work rapidly to develop the site once purchased and regularly update the governor’s office on its progress. The nonprofit also expressed its commitment to repairing its relationship with the Grand Ronde Tribe.
“The trust is committed to open communication and meaningful engagement with all parties and all governments, especially the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde,” the nonprofit said. “We declare our commitment to repairing and strengthening this important relationship.”
Kotek said in a signing letter that she was satisfied the funds would be “fully accounted for every step of the way,” and said she hoped the tribes and other stakeholders and local governments will “work together toward a shared understanding of the future of this incredible site.”
The Grand Ronde Tribe on Thursday criticized Kotek’s decision to approve the funding, calling the Willamette Falls Trust “a private nonprofit with a long record of exclusion and unanswered questions.”
“Gov. Kotek’s decision represents indifference about Oregon’s true tribal history and sends a message to Oregon tribes like Grand Ronde that our documented and indisputable ancestral connections to Willamette Falls and our treaties do not matter,” the tribe said in a press release.
Kotek also announced Thursday that she would follow through with her threatened vetoes of two bills that would have required Curry County to expedite any development permits for certain major projects and allowed individuals without special credentials who have received proper training to verify whether cattle are pregnant.
In a letter announcing the Curry County veto, Kotek said the expedited development permit bill would have limited public engagement on projects. In a separate letter, she said the cattle pregnancy bill could have led to increased spread of livestock diseases and potentially allowed unqualified individuals to offer professional services.
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