Help Restore Oregon’s Rivers, Parks and Wildlife Habitats

By Stewart Mills on March 29, 2010 From Restoration campaign

The dedication of 15 percent of Lottery revenues to protect parks, habitats, and watersheds - Oregon’s only source of funding for these important areas - is set to expire in 2014. That is, unless we act to renew this vital protection and restoration program. Oregonians for Water, Parks and Wildlife are heading the efforts to get Oregonians to offer their signatures and volunteer efforts to ensure the protection of Oregon’s wilderness areas.

The ballot measure was originally passed in 1998, and so far the funds have allowed the state to restore about 2,800 miles of streams, by removing invasive plants, reintroducing logs to river to foster natural habitats for fish, and restoring habitats. OWEB, who receive a portion of their funding from the Lottery program, has restored 38,000 acres of land in the last 10 years. The measure has been “probably one of the most successful environmental programs in Oregon,” says Jessica Moskovitz of Oregonians for Water, Parks and Wildlife.

Here are a few important details you should know:

  • This is the only public source of funding for Oregon’s clean water, parks and fish and wildlife habitats.
  • The program has been extremely successful in the past.
  • There will be NO increases in taxes to continue the ballot measure.
  • No funds will be taken away from any other programs through the renewal of this ballot measure.

So, here’s what you can do. Head on over to the Oregonians for Water, Parks and Wildlife website, request the approved petitions, and start collecting signatures! They need 60,000-100,000 volunteer signatures by the end of June. So far, they have about 7,000, and they need as much help as they can get.

Some tips from Jessica:

Go out to a farmers market, festival, art walk, etc. to collect signatures. Make sure to request the approved forms via the OWPW website.
Sign up to be a coordinator. Offer your contact info at the OWPW website, and they will contact you with the best ways of getting signatures. Share information on where you think the best areas for getting signatures are.
Request forms for friends and family. Even if you can’t go out to organize or collect signatures, you can still get your closest pals to sign up! Better yet, if you unable to leave home, ask a friend or family member to gather signatures for you!

We now have 3 months to get enough signatures required to put this measure on the November voting ballots. Help Oregonians for Water, Parks and Wildlife to continue the program which has been so successful in the past, and is so vital to our future.

“Our natural spaces are a part of how we want to raise our kids, how we want to live as Oregonians,” says Jessica.

At TENTHMIL, we couldn’t agree more.

This was Help Restore Oregon’s Rivers, Parks and Wildlife Habitats, an entry in our Restoration Campaign from March 29, 2010. It was filed under Forest, Rangeland and Rivers.

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