695-025-0080
Purpose

In accordance with Section 4b.(2) of Article XV of the Oregon Constitution and ORS 541.956, OWEB may consider grant applications that propose monitoring activities necessary for carrying out projects that either protect or restore native fish or wildlife habitats, or protect or restore natural watershed or ecosystem functions in order to improve water quality or stream flows. This division supplements the OWEB Grant Program rules under OAR 695-005, and provides specific requirements for the OWEB monitoring grant program. In the event of any conflict between these requirements and requirements identified in OAR 695-005, the monitoring grants requirements in this division will take precedence.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0090
Definitions

(1) “Adaptive management/adaptively manage” means a systematic process for continually improving by learning from ongoing experience. The process is commonly depicted as an iterative cycle of planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting.

(2) “Delegated to the Director” means the grant funds that the Board has authorized to the Director to award and enter into appropriate agreements.

(3) “Limiting factors” means physical, biological, or chemical conditions that reduce population of a species.

(4) “Monitoring question” means the question(s) that the applicant aims to answer by implementing the project as proposed in the application.

(5) “Professionally accepted” means methodologies or techniques that have been vetted by experts in the field in which the applicant is seeking monitoring funds.

(6) “Publicly available” means any member of the public can easily and reasonably access information.

(7) “Technical Review Team” means a team of designated personnel with relevant knowledge, including indigenous knowledge, convened to evaluate grant applications, which includes established regional review teams as described in OAR 695-005-0020(4).

(8) “Watershed processes” means the physical and chemical interactions that form and maintain the landscape at the scale of a drainage basin. They can be broken down into specific functions and characteristics, including: soil processes and erosion, nutrient cycling, pollution transport, riparian habitat and stream buffers, stream morphology and channel characteristics, hydrology, and water quality.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890 - 541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, amend filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020
OWEB 4-2004, f. 11-2-04, cert. ef. 2-1-05

695-025-0100
Eligibility

In accordance with ORS 541.956(4), the Board will only consider grant applications that:

(1) Describe current watershed conditions by gathering and analyzing data, and making monitoring results publicly available;

(2) Establish trends about watershed conditions by gathering and analyzing data, and making monitoring results publicly available; or

(3) Evaluate the specific effects of a restoration or acquisition project or program by comparing similar watershed components before and after implementation of a restoration or acquistion project or program, and making monitoring results publicly available.

Projects that will not inform the development of restoration or acquisition projects or programs and have the sole purpose of theory testing, evaluation of experimental designs, or the production of generalizable knowledge, are ineligible.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0140
Evaluation Criteria

Monitoring grant applications will be evaluated on the following criteria and to the extent to which the proposed project clearly addresses:

(1) The need, relevance, applicability, and timeliness of the proposed monitoring project to inform future planning, implementation or adaptive management of restoration or acquisition projects;

(2) Monitoring or information needs related to limiting factors, habitat conditions, watershed processes or actions described in federal, tribal, regional, state, or local plans or assessments, or that would inform development of a federal, tribal, regional, state, or local plan or assessment;

(3) Existing data, including historical data and indigenous knowledge, or current or planned monitoring efforts that this project will complement;

(4) The monitoring questions and how the proposed monitoring methods and activities (including study design, data collection and management, and analysis procedures) will answer these questions;

(5) Professionally accepted monitoring and analysis protocols, including quality assurance / quality control procedures to be utilized;

(6) Proposed costs that are appropriate for the work necessary to accomplish the objectives;

(7) The organizational capacity of the applicant as it relates to past experience and successful implementation of monitoring projects, relative to the proposed monitoring activities;

(8) The qualifications, ability, and performance history of the technical staff of the applicant, consultants to be retained, or project partners to apply appropriate monitoring approaches and the proposed data collection and analysis methods in a manner that will successfully complete the monitoring activities;

(9) How the appropriate technical experts and audiences in the community are engaged; and

(10) The process by which data and results will be stored, reported, and made publicly available.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890 - 541.969
History:
OWEB 2-2025, amend filed 01/30/2025, effective 01/30/2025
OWEB 1-2020, amend filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020
OWEB 4-2004, f. 11-2-04, cert. ef. 2-1-05

695-025-0150
Technical Review Process

(1) For monitoring grant applications seeking grant funds that require the Board to make a funding decision:

(a) A statewide team with monitoring expertise from natural resource agencies will be convened to review monitoring grant applications using the following process:

(A) Prior to meeting, the statewide team shall receive each application, past evaluations for resubmitted projects and an evaluation sheet that references criteria as described in OAR 695-025-0140 to complete for each application; and

(B) The statewide team will evaluate each application individually based on the information provided and in accordance with criteria in OAR 695-025-0140.

(C) At the statewide team meeting, the statewide team shall:

(i) Recommend fund;

(ii) Recommend fund with conditions;

(iii) Do not recommend funding; or

(iv) Defer to staff or the Board with an explanation if there is a policy issue or budget issue that needs to be addressed by the Board prior to a funding decision; and

(D) Rank order of projects recommended for funding based on how well the project meet the criteria established in OAR 695-025-0140.

(b) The project description, summary evaluation and funding recommendation for all projects, and the rank order of projects recommended for funding shall be provided from the statewide team to staff for their consideration. This information will be provided to all applicants and to the Board.

(2) For monitoring grant applications seeking grant funds that have been delegated to the Director:

(a) A statewide team with monitoring expertise from natural resource agencies may be convened to review monitoring grant applications using the following process:

(A) Prior to meeting, the statewide team shall receive each application, past evaluations for resubmitted projects, and an evaluation sheet that references criteria as described in OAR 695-025-0140 to complete for each application; and

(B) The statewide team will evaluate each application individually based on the information provided and in accordance with criteria in OAR 695-025-0140.

(b) A technical review team will be convened to review monitoring grant applications and evaluate each application individually based on any statewide team feedback and how well the proposed project meets the criteria in OAR 695-025-0140; this information will be provided to the applicants and the Director.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 2-2025, amend filed 01/30/2025, effective 01/30/2025
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0160
Staff Funding Recommendation Process

(1) For monitoring grant applications seeking grant funds that require the Board to make a funding decision:

(a) Staff shall review the recommendations from the statewide team and make a statewide funding recommendation to the Board based on available resources for the grant offering and type. The recommendation shall include any suggested conditions placed on individual projects and may include proposed budget adjustments. The staff recommendation, as represented in the staff report to the Board, shall be sent to applicants and members of the statewide team at least two weeks before the Board meeting where funding decisions are to be made.

(b) Applicants may provide written comment to the Board on the staff recommendation prior to the Board decision or oral comment to the Board during the meeting at which the Board decision will be made.

(2) For monitoring grant applications seeking grant funds that have been delegated to the Director, staff shall review the recommendations from each technical review team and make a funding recommendation to the Director based on available resources for the grant offering and type. The recommendation shall include any conditions placed on individual projects and may include proposed budget adjustments. The staff recommendation shall be provided to the applicants.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 2-2025, amend filed 01/30/2025, effective 01/30/2025
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0170
Funding Decision

For monitoring grant applications seeking grant funds that require the Board or Director to make a funding decision:

(1) A project may be funded in whole or in part.

(2) Projects not funded may be resubmitted during future application submission periods.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0180
Grant Agreement Conditions

(1) The Grantee must agree to complete the project as approved by the Board or the Director, and within the timeframe specified in the grant agreement unless proposed modifications are submitted and approved by the Director prior to the beginning of any work proposed in the modification.

(2) The Director will consider project modifications including expansion of funded projects with moneys remaining from the original project allocation if the purpose and intent of the amendment remains the same as the original project, the proposed activity is within the same geographic area, and the modification would be compatible with acknowledged comprehensive plans.

(3) The Director may authorize minor changes within the scope of the original project plan.

(4) The Grantee must submit a report at completion of the project in accordance with reporting requirements described in the grant agreement.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020

695-025-0190
Waiver and Periodic Review of Rules

The Director may waive the requirements of Division 25 for individual grant applications unless required by statute, when doing so will result in more efficient or effective implementation of the Board’s monitoring grant program. Any waiver must be in writing and included in the grant file to which the waiver applies. The administrative rules for monitoring grants shall be periodically reviewed by the Board and revised as necessary and appropriate.

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 541.906
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 541.890-541.969
History:
OWEB 1-2020, adopt filed 04/22/2020, effective 05/01/2020