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Natural area acquisition updates

Planning and conservation  ›  Natural areas, parks and trails  ›  Acquiring natural areas  ›  Acquisition updates

Find out about new lands protected with funds from the voter-approved 2006 natural areas bond measure.

Upper Rock Creek tributaries protected including habitat along Abbey Creek

Metro secured its first acquisition in the Rock Creek Watershed and Greenway target area in September 2009 with the purchase of 20 acres on the edge of Portland. The land acquistion supports program goals by safeguarding water quality in the Rock Creek watershed and protecting upland wildlife habitat in the headwaters of Abbey Creek.

Located north of Germantown and Kaiser roads along the western flank of Forest Park, the new acquisition also protects a portion of the wildlife corridor connecting Rock Creek to the region's largest protected nature park. There is abundant evidence of elk on the property and in the nearby area.

Originally zoned as land for commercial forestry, the site was logged in 1995 and replanted with Douglas fir. Today the fir, combined with Western red cedar, big leaf maple and cottonwood, provide an intact forest canopy. Two small, year-round creeks collect water from larger, mostly undeveloped  properties on the western slopes of the Tualatin Mountains and northern edge of Forest Park.,  Protection of the forest, creeks and riparian corridors on the property will help maintain water quality and wildlife habitat connectivity.

Metro, Portland and North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District team up to protect 10 acres of park land and improve water quality in Johnson Creek

Three local agencies, watershed advocates and area residents are celebrating the acquisition of 10 acres of park land along Johnson Creek in the Southgate neighborhood, one of the most park-deficient areas in the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District. The property, purchased in August 2009 by Metro in partnership with the City of Portland and the park district, is located at Southeast 76th Drive, just outside of Portland's city limits in unincorporated Clackamas County and adjacent to the multi-use Springwater Corridor.

The property is degraded but still home to a few native plants including Western red cedar, black cottonwood and Oregon ash and provides some songbird and wildlife habitat. The City of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services will carry out a significant habitat restoration project along the creek in 2010 as part of a sewer repair project. Restoration will include replanting the creek banks with trees and shrubs to improve water quality and provide habitat for wildlife including some of the native fish still found in Johnson Creek. 

The North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District has been working for more than a decade to acquire additional park land in the Southgate neighborhood and plans to develop the site as funding allows. Funding for the acquisition was divided evenly among the three agencies. Metro's portion of funding comes from the voter-approved 2006 natural areas bond measure. North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District system development charges were used to fund the district's portion of the purchase.

Two new acquisitions push the current land acquisition program over the 1,000 acre mark

Two acquisitions in June 2009 – 63 acres in the Stafford Basin on Wilson Creek and 28 acres on Baker Creek – bring the total number of acres protected by Metro to more than 1,000 acres and include more than nine miles of stream and creek frontage.  This adds to the 8,200 acres of natural areas protected with Metro's first voter-approved measure. In some places, Metro has added land adjacent to properties protected previously. In other places, like the Stafford Basin, Metro is working in new "target areas" to protect habitat that has previously had no public protection.

One-of-a-kind fen protected near West Linn

Metro secured the remainder of a rare fen located in the Willamette Narrows area near West Linn in 2009. Providing habitat to uncommon, varied and high-quality plant communities, the fen is a unique type of wetland that includes a shallow lake with a floating peat mat. According to the Oregon Natural Heritage Program, it is the only remaining fen of its kind in the Willamette Valley.

Along with the striking fen, the Metro acquisition includes large boulders and rocky piles overgrown with moss and ferns. These features were likely created by the action of the Missoula (or Bretz) Floods at the end of the Ice Age. The fen is ringed with dogwood, willow and Douglas spirea. The property is composed of an older mixed forest with basalt outcrops as well as the fen and the riparian forest surrounding the wetland. The upland forest is made up of a mix of conifer and hardwood trees including Douglas fir, Western hemlock, Western red cedar, big-leaf maple and red alder. The forest floor is carpeted with native plants including ferns, moss, huckleberry, plum and rose.

In 1998 Metro succeeded in acquiring 50 acres, including a portion of the fen, from the property owners. As part of that earlier transaction, the landowners agreed to Metro's "Right of First Refusal" for the remaining 13 acres, which Metro has now purchased. The entire protected property totals 63 acres.

Canemah Bluff acquisition expands rare oak and madrone habitats

Located on the bluff in Oregon City overlooking the Willamette River, Canemah Bluff offers scenic views to the neighboring city of West Linn and travelers on the busy I-5 freeway. Canemah Bluff is valued for its rich diversity of habitats including conifer forests, ash bottomlands, wildflowers and rare oak woodlands.

The addition of 24-acres increases the overall size of the natural area and brings the total of Metro-protected land at Canemah Bluff to 158 acres. The property includes a mixed forest of Douglas fir, white fir, Western hemlock, Pacific yew, Oregon white oak, and Pacific madrone along with maple and alder trees. The presence of a spring, stream and wetland adds complexity and increases the habitat value. Additionally, a series of rocky outcrops on the southern portion of the site includes crevices and small caves.

   Read the news release about this acquisition

More land protected in Cornelius

The quiet waters of Council Creek will benefit from Metro's purchase in 2009 of nearly seven acres. Located west of Susbauer Road, the property is one of the largest undeveloped parcels in the immediate area. Metro plans to restore the property's 670-foot section of creek in addition to improving its small wetland and upland forest.

Prior to this purchase, Metro had acquired 33 acres along Council Creek to the east of Susbauer Road. Although not directly adjacent, the new seven-acre parcel adds to what has become a significant protected stretch along the creek's northern bank. Beaver, river otter, deer and a variety of ducks have been seen on the property.

Natural area purchase protects Chicken Creek and helps the Tualatin River

Rolling hills and houses dot the landscape where the slow-moving waters of Chicken Creek flow through small farms and rural properties on their way to the Tualatin River. Chicken Creek winds through the 38-acre property Metro purchased in October 2008, located about a mile outside of Sherwood's city limits. Large, single parcels of land are hard to find in this area and the property is particularly valuable because of its relatively large size, quality and creek frontage.

At its confluence with the main stem of the Tualatin River, Chicken Creek flows into the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. The stretch of Chicken Creek that crosses the Metro acquisition runs through a mature forested drainage that provides shade to the creek, protects water quality and gives wildlife food and shelter.

Tualatin River Greenway acquisition

Metro purchased 1.5 acres in October 2008 near Brown's Ferry Park in Tualatin. The land is directly adjacent to an earlier 1/2 acre acquisition by Metro that included the confluence of Saum Creek and the Tualatin River. Protecting land along this stretch of the Tualatin River meets multiple regional goals including protecting water quality, providing wildlife habitat and securing more of the Tualatin River Greenway, a riverside trail envisioned to connect Cook Park and Stafford Road for local and regional residents.

Metro fills hole with purchase of half an acre on Johnson Creek

In an area known locally as "Ambleside," Metro's purchase of half an acre in Gresham is the latest chapter in the story of how the agency is piecing piece together the protection of significant and historic urban natural areas. Metro purchased the first of several home sites nestled among the tall, narrow Hogan cedar trees in 1997. Located along a key reach of Johnson Creek, several more homes with acreage and creek frontage were purchased by Metro over the following decade. There were also a few landowners that were not ready - or willing - to sell. The natural area now totals 42 protected acres.

"Assembling these larger blocks of land requires persistence - and steady funding," said Metro Council President David Bragdon. "Thanks to voters, these are two things that we have here in our region. We have the opportunity to wait until the time is right to purchase them. It's going to make a huge difference in the quality of these natural areas in the long run."

Metro secures more habitat for Graham Oaks Nature Park

This nature park on the south end of Wilsonville isn't scheduled to open to the public until 2010 but the park got a little bigger - and a little better - when Metro added another 20 acres of mature forest to the natural area. The new acquisition brings the total area protected to 250 acres.

Graham Oaks Nature Park is already home to red-tailed hawks, deer and other animals - as well as the more than 150,000 new trees and shrubs that Metro planted there last winter.

Watch a video about Metro's oak woodland restoration project at Graham Oaks

New lands protected at Scouter Mountain

"I am the happiest girl in Happy Valley," said resident Lori Luchak in a recent email to Metro. Her reaction was prompted by the announcement of Metro's purchase of 21-acres on the north side of Scouter Mountain.

The property is home to beautiful old cedar trees, big-leaf maple, Douglas fir and alders. At least one family of deer are spotted there regularly and a variety of other wildlife, including local and migratory birds like flicker, pileated woodpecker and winter wrens, find food and shelter in the area as well. The property includes a portion of Mitchell Creek, which drains to Johnson Creek, helping protect water quality.

Rising more than 700 feet above the valley floor, Scouter Mountain is located between rapidly growing Happy Valley and Pleasant Valley east of the I-205 freeway. Scouter Mountain is part of a series of extinct lava domes in the eastern part of the region that includes Portland's Mount Scott and Powell Butte, the buttes in Gresham and Mount Talbert in Clackamas. The City of Happy Valley contributed $100,000 of local funds toward the acquisition and will be responsible for the long-term management of the natural area.   

Metro makes first natural area purchase in Stafford Basin

Metro's purchase of 25-acres in the Stafford Basin builds on the vision of a protected wildlife corridor along Pecan Creek from Luscher Farm to the Tualatin River. The property includes about 2,000 feet of frontage along both sides of Pecan Creek, helping protect water quality in the Tualatin River basin.

The property is located in the Stafford Basin, a triangular-shaped area located south of Lake Oswego, west of West Linn and east of Tualatin. The non-profit Three Rivers Land Conservancy and the City of Lake Oswego have been working with private owners for more than a decade to purchase land and encourage land donations in the area. Metro's acquisition builds on this local effort to protect the landscape and keep people connected to nature in the Stafford Basin.

Metro and Clackamas County team up to protect land on the Clackamas River

Known to many as Fisherman's Bend, Metro and Clackamas County have protected 17 acres of land along the Clackamas River adjacent to Highway 224 between Barton and Carver. The property contains nearly ½-mile of river frontage, a perennial creek and wetlands that could be improved to benefit threatened and endangered salmon species. Habitat restoration, including removal of common invasive weeds such as English ivy and blackberry, will be needed in order for the site to fulfill its potential and provide high-quality fish habitat.

The natural area is mostly forested, including stands of cottonwoods that extend to the river along the southern property boundary, a small stand of white fir and a larger stand of Douglas fir. Bigleaf maple and alder trees are also present, as well as evidence of wildlife such as deer and beaver, great blue heron, red-breasted woodpecker, winter wren, red-tailed hawk and pileated woodpecker using the site.

The property poses management challenges for Clackamas County due to its popularity with river users. Clackamas County recently unveiled a new program, the "ecOzone campaign", aimed at improving conditions on the Clackamas River this summer. A portable restroom and recycling bins will be placed at the site to give rafters and other river users an additional designated stopping point along the way between Barton Park and the Carver boat ramp.

Read the news release about this acquisition

Natural area purchase and donation along Chehalem Ridge

Luisa Ponzi and Eric Hamacher, an Oregon winemaking family, have agreed to the sale and donation of 40 acres of rare oak and madrone forest on the western slope of the Chehalem Ridge. The property includes a donation of 4 acres, valued at $236,700.

Oak and madrone forest habitat is rare in the Northern Willamette Valley and is found on only a small percentage of properties within the region's system of protected natural areas. The site's large, mature Oregon white oak and madrone trees provide valuable habitat to many important wildlife species, such as Western gray squirrels, white-breasted nuthatches and acorn woodpeckers.

This is the first Metro acquisition in the Chehalem Ridgetop to Refuge target area.

Read the news release about this acquistion

Metro protects water quality and wildlife habitat in Johnson Creek watershed

The acquisition of an additional 11-acres in the Johnson Creek area demonstrate how the Metro Council is meeting its goal of protecting water quality in one of the region's most densely urbanized creeks.

Johnson Creek flows 26 miles from its headwaters near the Sandy River to its confluence with the Willamette River, passing through four cities - Portland, Milwaukie, Gresham and Happy Valley - along the way. Development within the area has created flooding problems for local residents and water quality problems for native fish and wildlife.

Together with the City of Portland, Metro has protected more than 150 acres of densely forested hillsides that drain into Johnson Creek and its tributaries. Recent acquisitions make the Clatsop Buttes natural area one of only a dozen protected places of this size within Portland's city limits. The area will be managed by the City of Portland.

Twice the area, three times the habitat

Home to a mix of native plants including cedar, maple, Douglas fir, red alder, Oregon grape, huckleberry, elderberry and sword fern, the Clatsop Buttes natural area supports a variety of wildlife including deer, fox, coyote, flicker, pileated woodpecker and other local and migratory birds. Larger sites provide greater benefits for wildlife by reducing the "edge effect", the amount of the area that is impacted by development or other human impacts. The greater the area within those edges, the more important and valuable the habitat is to wildlife and native plants.

City of Gresham and Metro team up for natural area protection

During the past decade Metro and the City of Gresham have worked together to preserve a broad, forested corridor in what is called the East Buttes area in an effort to protect wildlife from the impacts of urban development. Metro has acquired hundreds of acres in this area -- some of the most valuable property in the region -- adding to the natural area lands Gresham began protecting with their own program in the early 90's.

One of only a few privately-owned properties within a key wildlife corridor on East Buttes was preserved by Metro and the City of Gresham in May 2007. The property is located north of Butler Road and west of SE Regner Road and known locally as Gabbert Hill. It was planned for a development called Darby Ridge. The property acquisition by the two governments removes the potential of a proposed housing development becoming an obstacle to wildlife movement within the natural area.

Unique wet prairie and creek frontage protected in Tualatin River basin

When the pioneers arrived in the Tualatin Valley they found a landscape much different than what is seen today. Spreading Oregon white oaks framed the green hills, purple camas bloomed in wet prairies, and waterfowl shared the river's floodplain with Western meadow larks and red-legged frogs. Metro's Gotter Prairie natural area is a remnant of this historic native landscape, supporting rare plants and animals, and offering future residents a glimpse of the past.

Gotter Prairie expansion

Located along Southwest Hillsboro Highway in Scholls, Metro added 44 acres to Gotter Prairie in 2007. Simply harvesting his hay each summer, the previous property owner had wonderfully preserved many of the native prairie plant species on his land. Metro and its partners, such as the Tualatin Riverkeepers and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, have been working in recent years to recreate this wet prairie on the public's adjacent 120 acres. Combining management under public ownership will ensure the long-term protection of this important and relatively unique habitat type.

Related Links

Metro announces natural area purchase and donation on Chehalem Ridgetop

News release: Feb. 14, 2008 - Luisa Ponzi and Eric Hamacher, an Oregon winemaking family, have agreed to the sale and donation of a tract of rare oak and madrone forest on the western slope of the Chehalem Ridge to support Metro's Natural Areas Program.

News

Read Metro news releases, find a media contact, subscribe to newsletters and learn about emerging issues.

Metro protects nearly 100 acres on Clatsop Buttes

Metro news release: Dec. 3, 2007 - Another one of the largest remaining intact habitats within the city limits of Portland is protected through Metro’s Natural Areas Program.

Metro and Gresham protect 20 acres along Johnson Creek

Metro news release: Nov. 29, 2007 - Metro and the City of Gresham have purchased almost 20 acres of forested land in the Johnson Creek area, adjacent to the Springwater Corridor Trail.

Bond measure purchase protects water quality near confluence area of Dairy and McKay creeks

News release: April 17, 2007 - This purchase, which includes almost a mile of creek frontage, provides opportunities to protect water quality, restore a large native floodplain wetland system, and provide

Metro to protect North side of Clatsop Butte via Natural Areas Program

News release: July 25, 2007 - One of the largest remaining intact habitats within the city limits of Portland is now protected through Metro’s Natural Areas Program.