Natural Resource Inventory PORTLAND PLAN BACKGROUND REPORT FALL 2009 Acknowledgments Natural Resource Inventory Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) PROSPERITY AND BUSINESS SUCCESS Mayor Sam Adams, Commissioner-in-charge Susan Anderson, Director SUSTAINABILITY AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Joe Zehnder, Chief Planner Steve Dotterrer, Principal Planner Eric Engstrom, Principal Planner DESIGN, PLANNING AND PUBLIC SPACES Gil Kelley, Former Director, Bureau of Planning Project Team NEIGHBORHOODS & HOUSING Roberta Jortner, Environmental Planning Manager, BPS Mindy Brooks; Shannon Buono; Katie Hinman; TRANSPORTATION, TECHNOLOGY AND ACCESS Kevin Martin; Chris Scarzello; Elliot Scott Document Cartography and Design EDUCATION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT Gary Odenthal, GIS Coordinator, BPS Christine Rains, Graphic Designer, BPS Contributors HUMAN HEALTH, FOOD AND PUBLIC SAFETY Bureau of Environmental Services, Watershed Management Group, with special recognition of: QUALITY OF LIFE, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND EQUITY Shannon Axtell; Jennifer Devlin; Dawn Hottenroth; Dave Helzer; Josh Robben; Chris Prescott; Ry Thompson; Ali Young ARTS, CULTURE AND INNOVATION Bureau of Parks and Recreation Mart Hughes; Deborah Lev Metro Lori Hennings; Justin Houk; Paul Ketcham Project Technical Reviewers Susan Barnes, Patty Snow, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Tom Bouillion, Port of Portland; Bob Eaton, Dave Hendricks, Multnomah County Drainage District; Paul Fishman, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Karen Font Williams, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Mike Houck, Urban Greenspaces Institute; Jim Labbe, Bob Sallinger, Audubon Society of Portland; Tom McGuire, Adolfson Associates; Nancy Munn, NOAA Fisheries; Jennifer Thompson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Alan Yeakley, Portland State University To help ensure equal access to City programs, services and activities, the City of Portland will reasonably modify policies/procedures and provide auxiliary aids/services to persons with disabilities. Call (503) 823-7700 with such requests. www.PDXPlan.com Natural Resource Inventory PORTLAND PLAN BACKGROUND REPORT FALL 2009 Acknowledgments Natural Resource Inventory Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) ARTS & CULTURE Mayor Sam Adams, Commissioner-in-charge Susan Anderson, Director Joe Zehnder, Chief Planner CIVIC LIFE Steve Dotterrer, Principal Planner Eric Engstrom, Principal Planner COMMUNITY DESIGN Gil Kelley, Former Director, Bureau of Planning Project Team CONNECTIONS & ACCESS Roberta Jortner, Environmental Planning Manager, BPS Mindy Brooks; Shannon Buono; Katie Hinman; ECONOMIC VITALITY Kevin Martin; Chris Scarzello; Elliot Scott Document Cartography and Design EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY Gary Odenthal, GIS Coordinator, BPS Christine Rains, Graphic Designer, BPS Contributors ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Bureau of Environmental Services, Watershed Management Group, with special recognition of: HUMAN HEALTH Shannon Axtell; Jennifer Devlin; Dawn Hottenroth; Dave Helzer; Josh Robben; Chris Prescott; Ry Thompson; Ali Young NEIGHBORHOODS & HOUSING Bureau of Parks and Recreation Mart Hughes; Deborah Lev Metro Lori Hennings; Justin Houk; Paul Ketcham Project Technical Reviewers Susan Barnes, Patty Snow, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Tom Bouillion, Port of Portland; Bob Eaton, Dave Hendricks, Multnomah County Drainage District; Paul Fishman, SWCA Environmental Consultants; Karen Font Williams, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Mike Houck, Urban Greenspaces Institute; Jim Labbe, Bob Sallinger, Audubon Society of Portland; Tom McGuire, Adolfson Associates; Nancy Munn, NOAA Fisheries; Jennifer Thompson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Alan Yeakley, Portland State University To help ensure equal access to City programs, services and activities, the City of Portland will reasonably modify policies/procedures and provide auxiliary aids/services to persons with disabilities. Call (503) 823-7700 with such requests. www.PDXPlan.com table of contents i ntroduction 1 p r o j e c t h i s t o r y 6 p r o j e c t a p p r oac h 7 Scientific Foundation 7 Inventory Steps 8 Sample Maps 15 p r o j e c t r esults, products & uses 20 Citywide Results and Comparison to Metro’s Regional Inventory 20 Watershed-Specific Results 22 Products and Uses 23 s tatus of inventorie d natural resources a n d n e x t s t e p s 27 Inventoried Natural Resources: Existing Protections 28 How the Natural Resource Inventory will Inform Upcoming Compliance Reports 32 The Natural Resource Inventory and the Portland Plan 35 maps Portland’s Current and Historic Streams 2 Natural Resource Inventory Areas 4 Environmental Zoning 4 Metro Regional Inventory of Riparian Corridors and Wildlife Habitat 6 Comparison Metro Habitat Concern and Portland Special Habitat Area: Reed Lake/Crystal Springs Creek 13 Johnson Creek and Powell Butte Natural Resource Inventory Map Series 16 Southwest Hills, Willamette River and Ross Island Natural Resource Inventory Map Series 18 Natural Resource Inventory Update – Landscape Features 20 Natural Resource Inventory Update – Combined Riparian and Wildlife Habitat Relative Ranks 21 City of Portland Natural Area Acquisition Strategy, 2006 26 Natural Resource Inventory Update – Resource Areas and Existing Environmental Overlay Zones 29 Resource Areas and Existing Environmental Overlay Zones – Southwest Hills 31 Metro Habitat Title 13 Conservation Areas and City Environmental Overlay Zones 32 Metro Habitat Conservation Areas and City Environmental Overlay Zones – Tryon Creek 33 Metro Habitat Conservation Areas and City Environmental Overlay Zones – Columbia Slough 33 Inventoried Natural Resources, Land Divisions, and Residential Building Permits, 2002 – 2007 34 Linking People to Portland’s Parks and Greenspaces 35 Natural Resource Inventory – Ranked Resources, 2040 Centers, Station Areas & Transportation Corridors 35 Metro Regional Parks, Trails and Open Space System 36 city of portland natural resource inventory update | p r o j e c t s u m m a r y r e p o r t D i s c u s s i o n D r a f t | september 2009 3 4 city of portland natural resource inventory update | p r o j e c t s u m m a r y r e p o r t D i s c u s s i o n D r a f t | september 2009 introduction introducing . p o r t l a n d ’ s n at u r a l r e s o u r c e i n v e n t o r y u p d at e p r o j e c t ! Overview This document summarizes Portland’s Natural Resource Inventory Update Project to date. A detailed account of this work is documented in the Portland Natural Resource Inventory: Riparian Corridors and Wildlife Habitat – Project Report, Discussion Draft June 2007. The updated inventory: • Greatly improves quality and accessibility The Introduction section describes the context and of information about riparian corridors and wildlife habitat in Portland need for the inventory update. The Project History • Is “information only” – does not propose section explains the project origin, and introduces programs or regulations Metro’s regional inventory which provided the scientific • Will inform and support many actions in the and methodological basis for the City inventory update. City’s River Renaissance Strategy, the Portland Watershed Management Plan, and the The Project Approach section highlights the science Portland Plan basis for the work, and outlines the steps taken to • Doesn’t start from scratch – builds on and customize the regional information and produce refines the well-vetted science and methods used to produce Metro’s regional resource new inventory information for Portland. Some key inventory information from the City inventory project is featured • Reflects the urban landscape, resource in the Project Results, Products and Uses section conditions range from good to highly including information about the types of natural degraded; includes “natural” and “constructed” features resources that exist today, their relative quality, current • Uses current data and state-of-the-art projections and program updates. The concluding mapping tools that allow the information to section outlines a set of Next Steps. be kept up-to-date over time city of portland natural resource inventory update | p r o j e c t s u m m a r y r e p o r t D i s c u s s i o n D r a f t | september 2009 1 introduction Portland would not be here today were it not for an and slows stormwater runoff, thereby reducing peak historic abundance of natural resources. The waterways, streamflows and flooding. Trees and vegetation also forests, woodlands and prairies, fish and fur-bearing filter sediments and pollutants. Such services reduce animals, and fertile soils, have supported people for costs to maintain and expand the City sewer systems thousands of years. and treatment facilities. Trees and vegetation help maintain healthful air quality, reduce energy demand, and help capture carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. Trees are often associated with higher property values and desirable neighborhoods within which to live, work and play. 1 9 0 5 l o g r a f t c o n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e willamette river open channel and piped streams filled or diverted streams Today more than 576,000 people call Portland rivers and water bodies city of portland boundary home (PSU Population Research Center, 2008). The landscape has changed dramatically over the past 150 years. In some areas, much of the trees and vegetation have been removed to make way for roads and buildings. Many of the streams in Portland portland’s current and have been placed underground in pipes, and many historic streams of Portland’s waterways do not meet current water quality standards for pollution and temperature. Yet, a wealth of rivers, streams, wetlands, forests and other types of vegetation remain interwoven throughout Portland’s parks and natural areas, many residential neighborhoods, golf courses, cemeteries, college campuses, and along the Willamette River and in the Columbia River corridors. These natural resources provide important functions and services across today’s urban landscape. Rivers, streams, floodplains and wetlands provide conveyance and storage for streamflows and stormwater, and provide critical habitats for aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals.