Oregon’s Investment in Parks and Natural Resources

The economic importance of Oregon’s use of ongoing, dedicated

lottery funding for conservation, restoration and parks.

A report to the Northwest Wildlife Conservation Initiative and The Nature Conservancy

By Gard Communications

June 16, 2010

In 1998, Oregonians voted 2 to 1 to amend our state Constitution and dedicate 15 percent of state lottery receipts to protect and restore natural habitat and to expand and improve Oregon’s state and local parks.

This dedicated funding has proven to be good for business. It has created jobs and stimulated economic activity in every corner of our state. The predictable nature of this funding supports the business infrastructure needed for conservation and restoration. This funding mechanism is business-friendly, locally-driven, highly effective at meeting objectives, and is strongly supported by the public.

Creating jobs and supporting business across Oregon.

• Since 1998, Oregon has invested more than $219 million of dedicated lottery dollars in more than 3,500 conservation and restoration projects involving every county in Oregon.i On average, 78 percent of restoration project costs are spent in the private sector.ii

• Investment in the wide range of activities encompassed by watershed restoration leads to 16.7 jobs in Oregon per $1 million of public investment.iii

• “[E]very dollar of public investment in forest and watershed restoration projects is multiplied in economic activity between 1.7 and 2.6 times as it cycles through Oregon’s economy.” iii

• After passage of the 1998 measure, the environmental restoration opportunities “hit a critical mass where people can build a business around it, rather than just being a novelty.” ii Hundreds of businesses now service this growing sector of our economy.

• Protecting habitat also helps protect important sectors of Oregon’s economy. In 2008, fish and wildlife recreation accounted for expenditures of $2.5 billion statewide, including travel, local recreation and equipment expenditures.iv

Bringing out-of-state funds to Oregon.

• Habitat protection funds are allocated by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, which requires a match of at least 25 percent. The average match is 142 percent. For example, a $3 million award to remove the Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River leveraged more than 12 times that amount in federal matching money toward a $40 million dollar project.i

• According to a report prepared for the Northwest Wildlife Conservation Initiative, “The steady flow of lottery also allowed OWEB to bring in an additional $106 million in federal dollars.” i

A business-friendly, environmentally friendly alternative to regulation.

• Oregon’s dedicated conservation dollars fund land conservation, protection and restoration through business and voluntary action initiated by local communities. This voluntary, grassroots structure reflects deeply-held Oregon values and is a model for other states.

• This fund allows Oregon to avoid the more rigid regulatory approaches used in other states that tend to shift dollars away from private sector incentives toward government-driven enforcement, community conflict and non-productive litigation.

A highly effective and accountable use of conservation dollars.

• Significant land conservation, restoration and park preservation achievements in Oregon over the past decade would not have occurred without this dedicated, predictable lottery funding.

• Legacy projects such as the protection of Zumwalt Prairie near Enterprise, Green Island in the Willamette River and the Table Rocks near Medford, and the creation of new parks such as Stub Steward State Park in Washington County and Cottonwood Canyon on the John Day River, were all made possible through the dedicated funding of the 1998 measure.i

• These kinds of achievements would not be possible if each new opportunity depended on a search for funding through the highly volatile political process. Funding allocated annually or biennially by the Oregon Legislature provides no certainty to businesses that need to hire employees and buy equipment and supplies. Short term funding does not allow communities to build local skills or community-based stewardship of their resources.

Dedicated funding reflects what Oregonians want.

• Oregonians supported the 1998 measure by a 2 to 1 margin. Statewide values surveys consistently show water quality and wildlife habitat to be high priorities for Oregonians.

Conclusion

Oregon’s dedicated conservation fund creates jobs, stimulates economic activity, provides an effective and accountable use of conservation dollars, and leads to a stronger economic future for Oregon.

i Northwest Wildlife Conservation Initiative and The Nature Conservancy, March 2010. “Oregon Lottery Investments in Parks and Natural Resources.” 1999-2010.

ii Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon. Summer 2009. “A Growing Watershed Industry in Oregon.” Ecosystem Workforce Program, Briefing Paper #17.

iii Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon. Spring 2010. “The Employment and Economic Benefits of Forest and Watershed Restoration in Oregon.” Ecosystem Workforce Program, Briefing Paper #23.

iv ODFW, May 2009. “Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife Viewing, and Shellfishing in Oregon.” Dean Runyon Associates.