Gov. Tina Kotek considering veto of controversial $45M outlay to Willamette Falls Trust

A $45 million donation to the Willamette Falls Trust, a nonprofit organization that promotes public access to the falls, is being considered for veto by Governor Tina Kotekannounced Thursday. The donation would assist the group in acquiring 60 acres of land close to the falls.

According to a news release sent by Kotek’s office on Thursday, the governor is in favor of opening public access to the natural wonder that is Willamette Falls from both sides of the falls. She wants to hear more from all parties involved and is doing her best to properly understand how these money are being used.

The historic place has recently been engulfed in fierce intertribal strife. Kotek was asked in June not to provide funding to the charity, which is headed by former Governor Kate Brown and has four other tribes that claim historical ties to the falls, by the Grand Ronde Tribe, which has historic treaty rights at the waterfall.

Cheryle Kennedy, chairperson of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, wrote to Kotek on June 9 to condemn the foundation for not including the Grand Ronde tribe in its planning process and to call the group’s proposal to buy roughly 60 acres of land foolish and deceptive.

The Grand Ronde tribe has long been offered a seat on the Willamette Falls Trust’s board and tribal leadership committee, the trust argued in response to those allegations.

In the closing days of this year’s legislative session, politicians slipped the funds into a large spending measure, and Kotek seems to have been persuaded to contemplate withholding it as a result of the controversy.

Kotek’s office stated in the news release that she was particularly curious to know if prior state and municipal government funding had been used efficiently.

According to the statement, Kotek has previously advocated for the establishment of public access to the falls and is dedicated to allocating public funds in a way that ensures this access is built in the most responsible and equitable way feasible.

Leaders of the Willamette Falls Trust responded to Kotek’s news with a press release on Friday, stating that the state appropriation was essential to aiding in landscape restoration and eventually financing cultural and educational offerings at the location.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore the site’s natural beauty and make it available to future generations as a spiritual, cultural, and educational resource. “We have to seize this opportunity,” Brown stated in the press release.

Additionally, Kotek stated that she is thinking of vetoing three bills that would require Curry County to expedite any development permits for specific major projects, permit physical therapists to practice dry needling, and permit anyone with the necessary training but no special credentials to determine whether cattle are pregnant.

According to her office, the governor and her team will keep examining these proposals and weighing arguments for and against them in order to make a final decision.

Kotek must make her final choices by August 8.

State politics and government are covered by Carlos Fuentes. You may contact him at orcfuentes@oregonian.com or 503-221-5386.

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