PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Metro, the government agency for the greater Portland area, announced its purchase of a 92-acre property in Clackamas County that will give locals another natural area to explore once it’s restored.
According to Metro, the new natural area was acquired using funding from a previous Parks and Nature Bond measure.
In November 2019, Portland residents voted in favor of a $475 million bond measure that set out to preserve clean water, rehabilitate fish and wildlife habitats, and encourage more people to connect with the outdoors.
Of that $475 million, $155 million were allocated for protecting and restoring land, while $92 million were allocated for local parks and nature projects.
“This is a new focus area for Metro in the 2019 bond measure, and with this property as a meaningful starting point, additional conservation investment around it can create a large, regionally significant anchor for the conservation of priority habitat types and their associated species,” Conservation Program Director Dan Moeller wrote in a memorandum sent to Metro Council.
The new property is located in the Upper Holcomb Creek area near Oregon City and Happy Valley.
Program director Moeller added that the natural area’s size and habitat diversity are especially important since it’s on a side of town that doesn’t often receive funding for conservation.
Metro says that it officially secured the site on January 26. The Parks and Nature Bond team is now planning on restoring the area, by swapping out invasive weeds for native plants and increasing habitat complexity.
“The property allows Metro to take a large step forward in its goal of improving regional water quality, as it contains more than 3,000 feet of seasonal headwater streams that feed into Upper Holcomb Creek, which in turn feeds Newell and Abernethy creeks,” Metro said.
Metro also reported that Clackamas County’s new natural area will help with flood prevention and act as a habitat for oak savannas, woodlands, prairies and white oak trees.