Text Size:   A+ A- A   •   Text Only
Find     
OWEB Grants

Types of Grants Offered
Regular Grants
OWEB's largest grant program in funds awarded
Our largest program in number of grants and funds awarded is a competitive program. In addition to the grant types listed below, OWEB may also solicit applications for watershed assessments.
General information about the Regular Grant Program
Information about each Regular Grant Type
 

Application Deadline
Application Type(s)
Board Funding Decision Meeting Date(s)
April 16, 2012Restoration
Technical Assistance
Water Lease and Transfer
September 11-12, 2012
October 22, 2012Restoration
Technical Assistance
Subject to change.
March 12-13, 2013
April 15, 2013Subject to change.
Application types to be determined.
September 10-11, 2013

Small Grants
An easy-to-engage-in program providing restoration grants up to $10,000
The Small Grant Program is a competitive grant program that awards funds of up to $10,000 for on-the-ground restoration projects that address local priorities. Watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts and tribes submit applications on behalf of landowners. If you are a landowner interested in participating, please contact your Small Grant Team.

Local Capacity Support Grants
Investing in the watershed restoration infrastructure
OWEB supports the capacity of watershed councils and soil and water conservation districts so that the state has an enduring, high capacity local infrastructure for conducting watershed restoration and conservation.
 

Watershed Council Support
Watershed councils are locally organized, voluntary, non-regulatory groups established to improve the condition of watersheds in their local area. Watershed councils bring varied interests together to form a common vision for the watershed, prioritize activities, and identify landowner participants for important projects. OWEB council support grants provide funds for watershed council coordinator salary, operating costs, risk management and accountability insurance, and other costs.
Watershed Council Support Grants

Soil and Water Conservation Districts
Soil and water conservation districts historically focused primarily on helping farmers and ranchers. Today, there are 45 districts providing technical information and guidance to landowners, managers, and citizens across the state. OWEB and the Oregon Department of Agriculture provide funding to support the capacity of soil and water conservation districts to work with landowners in support of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds and the local Agricultural Water Quality Management Plans.

Partnership Investments
Investments in longer-term, larger-scale activities
The Partnership Investment Program is a means by which OWEB works closely with partners and utilizes a different process to invest in longer-term activities intended to result in larger-scale ecological outcomes. Ideally, a Partnership Investment contributes to a historic change or surge of progress in the recovery of a species, the restoration of an ecosystem, or the launching of an intitiative that addresses widespread issues.
 

Special Investment Partnerships (SIP)
The Special Investment Partnership (SIP) program
Partnerships have been established in the Upper Deschutes and Willamette basins.  Additional SIPs are being considered.
The goal of the Deschutes SIP is to re-establish the stream flow, restore habitat, and re-establish extirpated salmon and steelhead runs in the Deschutes River and tributaries above the Round Butte Dam.
 
Willamette Special Investment Partnership
The main goal of the Willamette SIP is to restore the mainstem river's meanders, natural floodplains, and fish and wildlife habitats in order to slow floodwaters and allow the the river to interact with the land and plants around it. The Willamette SIP is built on a companion effort of the Meyer Memorial Trust who is an active funding partner and committed to increasing the pace of restoration in the Willamette basin. 

Whole Watersheds Restoration Initiative (WWRI)
WWRI is a partnership with U.S. Forest Service, NOAA Fisheries, and Ecotrust that focuses funding on restoring land across public and private ownerships within priority watersheds.
EcoTrust and WWRI
 

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
CREP is a state and federal partnership that allows landowners to receive incentive payments and conservation rental payments from the USDA Farm Services Agency for establishing long-term riparian buffers on eligible land. In addition to providing partial funding to direct loandowner payments for conservation activities, OWEB has participated in providing funding for outreach, technical assistance and program coordination. The Oregon Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resources have also assisted in CREP implementation and coordination.
 
OWEB has funded 11 grants from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013 that will provide funding for staff positions to assist landowners with conservation plan development and implementation, including the completion of Endangered Species Act and cultural resources reviews.
CREP Technical Assistance Grants
Research Grants
Applied research resulting in data, information and techniques used to restore watersheds
Grants funded through OWEB’s research program have focused on applied research and have resulted in data, information and techniques that have been used to restore and enhance Oregon's watersheds. 
Research Grants
 

Oregon State Weed Board Grants
Funding for noxious weed control projects
The Oregon State Weed Board (OSWB) and OWEB provide grant funding for noxious weed control projects related to the protection and enhancement of watersheds and fish and wildlife habitat.
Oregon State Weed Board Grants (ODA's website)