ENTERPRISE — Uncertainty seems to be the order of the day in Wallowa County in the wake of the Trump administration’s freeze and then rescinding of it on federal assistance programs.

On Monday, Jan. 27, a memo from the federal Office of Management and Budget ordered a temporary moratorium on all federal assistance “including, but not limited to” grants related to diversity, foreign aid and “woke gender ideology.” A federal judge quickly directed that the pause be lifted, and the White House rescinded the OMB memo.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the freeze itself was still in place, and only the initial memo ordering the directives had been rescinded to “end any confusion.”

But confusion still reigned among local governments and organizations that rely on federal grants and other funding in Wallowa County.

Wallowa Land Trust

Kathleen Ackley, executive director of the Wallowa Land Trust, which is administering a grant for a conservation easement at Carman Ranch near Wallowa, was one of those expressing uncertainty over the federal freeze.

“It was so broad and so general, it was uncertain,” she said Thursday, Jan. 30.

She noted that the $793,410 grant already has been approved by Congress, so it should come through. But she’s not sure.

“We’re hoping this project is far enough along,” she said.

However, she added, there’s no clear guidance from the OMB.

The grant would keep about 2,000 acres of the Carman Ranch in production and protect it from being subdivided for development

Ackley said the trust has at least one other grant that could be affected, and other organizations are concerned.

“In a community like ours, where it’s such a tight network of people who help each other,” Ackley said. “it definitely puts a strain on us.”

Wallowa Resources

One of those organizations is Wallowa Resources, which relies in part on federal funding for its programs.

“Wallowa Resources gets federal, state, foundation, donations and earned income,” said Nils Christofferson, executive director.

Wallowa Resources counts on the Natural Resources Conservation Service to help with rangeland work and the U.S. Forest Service for help in the woods.

But since the OMB freeze only affected federal funding, that’s a minor portion of what Wallowa Resources relies on.

“It raises questions about funding that supports the county and, more broadly, across Northeast Oregon,” Christofferson said. “There’s still a lot of confusion out there, so it’s hard to know.”

Christoffersen said he doesn’t have reason to believe funds Wallowa Resources counts on are at risk, but the uncertainty remains.

“We’re hopeful some of the confusion can be cleared up quickly … so we can keep the good work happening.”

Local government

Wallowa County Board of Commissioners Chair Susan Roberts expressed hopes that some of what President Trump is doing can reverse decades of increasing regulations that hobble local government and the economy.

“Here we’ve been trying to guard against that for many years,” she said. “They need to relieve some of the godawful regulations on the Forest Service. … There’s a lot of work to do, and we could let the foresters do what they need to do to keep the forests healthy.”

She also believes criticism of the freeze from Oregon’s Democratic U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, is unwarranted. She said the administration wants to send people out to look at federally funded programs on a case-by-case basis.

“What those gentlemen don’t know is how it works on the ground,” she said of the senators. “We can’t afford to see them pouring money out the door.”

Roberts believes the new administration’s doing its best to rein in spending and that both parties should be working for the good of the people.

“We are wasting incredible amounts of money on emergency services because someone else is dictating how we spend it,” she said.

Fellow Commissioner John Hillock said that one of the largest sources of federal funds to the county, payments in lieu of taxes (or PILT) received based on the acreage of federal forest lands, is unlikely to be affected. But other areas might.

“I really don’t know. So much of our funding comes from the state, not the feds,” he said.

The board’s newest commissioner, Lisa Collier, thinks it’s too soon to get rattled over the funding freeze, but it’s good to keep in mind as they enter budget season.

“Let’s just pause and take a breath and wait till the dust settles,” she said. “Things are happening so fast. I think we need to wait and see what sticks.”