‘Dire straits’: Columbia County sheriff says federal boating safety funding at risk amid Oregon’s sanctuary state status

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ore. (KOIN) – The Columbia County Sheriff is sounding the alarm about what the loss of a federal boating safety grant will mean for marine law enforcement in the county.

Right now, the Oregon State Marine Board

is not receiving the Recreational Boating Safety grant for the first time since the grant was established in 1971. It is around $2.2 million and comes from the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Coast Guard, and goes towards funding marine law enforcement and education. But this year DHS updated the terms and conditions for the grant and Oregon did not meet them due to the state’s sanctuary status. OSMB was discussing what terms they could agree on with the Coast Guard, which were different from the ones presented.

The Board helps fund marine law enforcement for 31 sheriff’s offices and Oregon State Police. Without the grant, they are looking at around a 30% reduction in law enforcement funding. Now they have to do what they can with the money they have.

“We’ve worked very closely with our marine law enforcement partners to operationalize those– those reductions and more specifically, looking at times of, you know, peak boating, and making sure that we have marine patrol on the water during those peak boating times,” OSMB Boating Safety Program Manager Brian Paulsen said.

Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley said less funding from the Board will mean less support on the water. His office is preparing to have one deputy on the water without help from the grant funding. That’s a shift from their usual full-time marine deputy and five part-time deputies in peak season.

“We had to get really creative with the budget to even ensure that our marine program was able to continue,” Pixley said. “So what it’s going to mean is longer response times. There’s going to be times we’re not going to be able to respond on the river, just due to officer safety or manpower issues. So that’s going to be pushed back on to the Coast Guard stationed in Portland.”

Right now the Board is doing what it can to keep programs operating across the state while trying to get that grant funding back. But Paulsen said they are already discussing options with other agencies to find that funding elsewhere if they cannot get that grant again.

“Not only that would be, you know, current service level, but, you know, hopefully additional funding to help the marine law enforcement services that are oftentimes, responding to on water calls,” Paulsen said.

If the Board cannot get extra help, Pixley said the future looks uncertain in Columbia County.

“We might have to scrap our marine program altogether as well,” he said. “The Marine Board budget typically pays for manpower plus fuel, plus boat repairs. And the amount of money I’m getting now is not even enough to cover one FTE. So it’s definitely dire straits.”

Pixley said he is talking with state lawmakers about what they can do locally to get more law enforcement personnel on the water. And the Board is still hoping they can get that grant after all. Oregon is involved in a multi-state lawsuit against DHS over these terms and conditions, and Paulsen said they are waiting to see how it will play out.