Oregon lawmakers have taken the first step toward acquiring a 92-foot waterfall east of Salem, as well as the private land surrounding it.
A new budget bill includes investing $2.1 million toward potentially acquiring Abiqua Falls, a dramatic basalt cliff cascade that drops into a pool encircled by ferns and mossy rocks.
Visitors have long treated this natural landmark as a public space, but it’s been privately owned for the last century. The Abbey Foundation of Oregon — the fundraising nonprofit arm of Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary — listed the 40-acre property for sale on Redfin earlier this year, first reported by the Salem Statesman Journal…