Open Spaces. Treasured Places. 8,000 acres saved and counting. Celebrate your natural areas Dear GreenScene reader Contents Page What does it take to protect and restore health Just the facts to our local rivers and streams?streams? How do we Program data and acquisition information 4-5 support fish and wildlife habitat? Do we have the Local share program 13 skill – and the courage – to restorerestore swimmable, Map of open spaces and projects 16-17 drinkable waterways in the Portland regionregion for Planning for public access 19 ourselves and generations to come? Stories Metro Councilor Susan McLain 6 We can and we did. All of us, together. Trains, trails and tuna melts 8 Volunteer Don McCarty 12 The Hewitts: Clear Creek 14 In 1995, the voters of the metropolitan region created a model Wildflowers of Cooper Mountain 18 program for landowners, neighborhoods, businesses and government Restoration greatest hits 20 to work together to protect land near our rivers and streams – more The Gotters: Tualatin River 23 than 8,000 acres and counting. By approving the $135.6 million open Tualatin Riverkeepers 23 spaces, parks and streams bond measure, voters directed the Metro The Webers: Willamette River 24 Council to protect our precious butte tops, stream corridors, river Points of view canyons, wetlands and prairies with significant water quality, wildlife Don Morissette, home builder habitat and recreational benefits for the region. Our acquisitions and former Metro councilor 7 include nearly 74 miles of stream and river frontage which offer an Stephen Quennoz, Portland important natural buffer from development while allowing greater General Electric 10 Tony Vecchio, Oregon Zoo 15 public access to local waterways. Rudy Kadlub, Costa Pacific Communities 22 This special edition of GreenScene features voices and stories from Gail Snyder, Friends of Forest Park 25 across the region. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the people, Russell Hoeflich, The Nature places and ideas that shaped the open spaces program and made our Conservancy 26 Mike Houck, Urban Greenspaces mutual success possible. Institute 27 Let’s celebrate. Things to do Open Spaces, Treasured Places 3 Today, nearly all of the bond money has been spent and it’s time to Become a volunteer steward 13 Treasured Friends events 28 celebrate the investment we have all made in our children’s future Fall calendar of nature activities 28-30 and the region’s health and economy. During a special series of events Autumn bird watching 30 from Sept. 1-11, you’ll find an inviting variety of opportunities to get to know your newly acquired natural areas. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating all that has been accomplished. Eight thousand acres saved and counting. It’s quite a legacy that you have given to this place. On behalf of all the citizens of the metropolitan region – those here today and those yet to come – I thank you. Sincerely, David Bragdon, Metro Council President 2 Come. Explore. Repeat. Presented by Portland General Electric and The Oregonian A ROOM WITH A VIEW First Thursday Dedication Event Photographic Image Gallery Featuring photos by Bruce Forster Sept. 1 CONCERTS ON THE LAWN McMenamins Grand Lodge The John Bunzo Trio Sept. 2 Michael McDermott photo BIKE TO THE MAX Bike the Springwater Trail from the Woodstock Bike Gallery Sept. 3 Open Spaces. Treasured Places. OPEN HOUSE IN OPEN SPACE Open Space Walking Tours Celebrate Sept. 1-11 Cooper Mountain Vineyards Sept. 4 WILDLIFE OF THE OPEN SPACES UP THE RIVER WITH A PADDLE LEGACY BREAKFAST AND BUS TOUR Oregon Zoo Amphitheater Join Willamette Riverkeeper, Next Grandparents Day with Elmer’s Sept. 5 Adventure and eNRG Kayaking Restaurants and TriMet Willamette Park, West Linn Sept. 11 Sept. 10 JUDE AT THE ALADDIN Tickets at Ticketmaster Sept. 9 THE HARVEST FAIR Sign up to be a “Treasured Friend” Sauvie Island’s Annual at these events or on the Wintering In ANCIENT FOREST HIKE Metro web site and be eligible Sept. 10 and 11 With Friends of Forest Park to win a bicycle or a kayak. Sept. 10 For registration information and event details, visit www.metro-region.org/parks or call (503) 797-1928. 3 Promises made, promises kept What did we get Jackson Bottom/McKay and Dairy creeks for our money? (493 acres) Acquisitions along these More than 8,130 acres of tributaries of the Tualatin valuable natural areas and River support water qual- nearly 74 miles of stream ity enhancement efforts in and river frontage have been the Tualatin Basin and add protected by the open spaces, wildlife habitat to the Jackson parks and streams bond mea- Bottom Wetlands Preserve sure. management area. The bond measure also gave Tualatin River access $25 million directly to local park providers for investment points (398 acres) Acquisitions along the in local county and city park Tualatin River provide rare improvements and, in some habitat types and at least four cases, even more land acqui- future public access points sition. More than 100 local for canoeing, kayaking, fish- park projects in neighbor- ing, picnicking and wildlife hoods across the region offer viewing. biking, hiking and wildlife watching opportunities close to home. Cooper Mountain (256 acres) Oak woodland, dry native Exceeding prairie, mixed conifer for- expectations – est, and stream and wetland areas will be the backdrop for Metro makes a public natural area being your dollars work planned for Cooper Moun- tain near Beaverton. harder Rock Creek (117 acres) The Metro Council and pro- A tributary of the Tualatin gram staff have worked hard River, Rock Creek flows to stretch your open space WillametteWillamette NarrowsNarrows through an area of rapid investment. As of June 2005, C. Bruce Forster photo urban growth. Acquisitions more than $10 million has protect some of the natural been leveraged from state and features of the area, provide local partners to buy land. would be spent on overhead Regional natural wildlife habitat, help maintain Seven private landowners and administrative costs. Not water quality and offer recre- donated their property to the only were acreage goals far area acquisition ational opportunities. open spaces program and four surpassed, but administra- more provided partial dona- tive costs averaged only 9.6 Gales Creek (606 acres) Forest Park buffer/ tions – for a total of nearly percent. Wetlands and riparian forests expansion (865 acres) 200 acres. In some cases, acquired along Gales Creek Acquisition of inholdings and landowners donated conser- south of Forest Grove protect adjacent buffer areas protects vation easements or agreed Administration/ wildlife habitat and water the future of Forest Park, to a “bargain” sale of their overhead quality near the Tualatin Riv- 9.6% a 5,000-acre park in urban property. er and connect to other large Land costs Northwest Portland. Local share 73.6% regional natural areas such as program 15.4% When the bond measure was Fernhill Wetlands. Willamette River put to voters in 1995, it was estimated that 6,000 acres Trail Greenway (959 acres) construction Acquisitions from Wilsonville would be protected and 13.35 1.4% to the Multnomah Channel percent of the bond proceeds protect fish and wildlife habi- tat and provide scenic value 4 and future river access. Specif- Tryon Creek linkages to the region, excellent wild- Peninsula Crossing Trail ic Willamette River Greenway (58 acres) life habitat and panoramic (1 acre) projects include Multnomah Stream greenways leading to vistas. Located in North Portland, Channel (326 acres), Willa- Tryon Creek help protect wa- this 3.5-mile trail connects the mette Cove in North Portland ter quality in the watershed as Columbia River shoreline Columbia Slough and Smith (27 acres), Willamette Nar- well as support the integrity (271 acres) and Bybee Wetlands Natural rows near West Linn (472 of Tryon Creek State Natural Riparian forest and island Area with the Willamette Gre- acres) and Canemah Bluff Area. acquisitions west of the Sandy enway. The trail is open for near Oregon City (134 acres). River improve public access public use. Newell Creek Canyon to the Columbia River and Tonquin geologic area (280 acres) preserve remaining undevel- OMSI to Springwater (487 acres) Newell Creek flows through a oped habitat. Corridor This area near Tualatin links forested canyon near Oregon (53 acres) to the Tualatin River National City. Acquisitions include Sandy River Gorge Now home to the Springwater Wildlife Refuge and contrib- nearly 6 miles of stream front- (1,082 acres) on the Willamette Trail, this utes scenic value to the cities age and help protect salmon Acquisitions along this wild critical link in the regional of Wilsonville and Tualatin. It and trout habitat. and scenic waterway and its trails system is used by more also features unique geologic tributaries provide important than 400,000 people per year. evidence of prehistoric glacial Clear Creek Canyon fish and wildlife habitat and flooding. (520 acres) water quality benefits. Clackamas River North Acquisitions along this tribu- Bank Greenway tary of the Clackamas River Regional trails (608 acres) support a salmon fishery and Acquisition of land along the provide habitat for more than and greenways Clackamas River between 100 species of fish and wild- Barton and Clackamette parks life, including coyotes, cougar, Fanno Creek Greenway provides significant habitat blacktail deer, elk, cutthroat (39 acres) restoration opportunities, trout, chinook and coho salm- Acquisitions will help com- flood storage, water quality on and 76 species of birds. plete the 15-mile regional protection and future recre- trail planned from the shores ational values. East Buttes/Boring Lava of the Willamette River in Domes (856 acres) Southwest Portland to the Beaver Creek Canyon A group of extinct volcanoes confluence of Fanno Creek Greenway (110 acres) and lava domes in north and the Tualatin River.