Click the image to read a PDF of the winter 2020 issue of Our Big Backyard.
Like nearly every acre of ground in greater Portland, Quamash Prairie Natural Area west of Tigard is ceded land. Since time immemorial until the arrival of white colonists, fires regularly burned the area that became greater Portland.
The region's Indigenous people used fire extensively. Tribes, bands and families burned prairies to harvest tarweed seeds and woodlands to gather acorns, shaping and molding the ecosystem to favor habitats and plants that sustained their diverse societies and cultures.
Early last fall, a wildland fire team from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde led a prescribed burn of Quamash Prairie. Learn more about how fire works and the importance of reconnecting land, culture and habitat by reading the winter 2020 issue of Our Big Backyard, Metro's quarterly parks and nature magazine.
In addition, read about other parks and nature news, find fun nature classes and events and more.
Find a copy of Our Big Backyard at a local public library branch, the Oregon Zoo, a Metro park, or at various community centers and senior centers. Or read individual stories online on Parks and Nature News or click the image on the right to read a PDF of the magazine.
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Read individual stories or view a PDF of the magazine on Parks and Nature News