The project rests in the district of Salem’s most powerful lawmaker.
BY NIGEL JAQUISS
Oregon Journalism Project
As lawmakers finished the 2025 session, the so-called Christmas tree bill contained few presents larger than the $45 million included in House Bill 5006 for the Willamette Falls Trust to purchase Moore’s Island, about 60 acres of property available now because of the closure of West Linn Paper Co.
That appropriation comes amid intertribal controversy: The Grand Ronde Tribe, which has historic treaty rights at Willamette Falls, urged Gov. Tina Kotek not to give money to the trust, whose executive director is former Gov. Kate Brown and whose members include the Siletz, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes.
But the project rests in the district of Salem’s most powerful lawmaker, Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego).
Grand Ronde tribal chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy panned the appropriation.
“Any state investment in land at Willamette Falls must center the voices and rights of Tribal nations with ancestral ties to this sacred site, not a private nonprofit,” Kennedy said.
Meanwhile the trust cheered the decision: “We are grateful to the Legislature for including this project, which will return an iconic treasure to the people.”
Editor’s note: In Oregon, the “Christmas Tree Bill” refers to an end-of-session omnibus spending bill that includes a wide array of budget allocations for various projects and causes. These bills are often nicknamed “Christmas Tree Bills” because they tend to include a diverse range of spending items, like ornaments on a tree, requested by individual legislators. For more on what was in the bill and how it all came down, visit oregoncapitalinsider.com/2025/06/28/oregon-legislature-wraps-for-2025-after-eleventh-hour-strife-historic-funding-shortfall.