Natural Resource Conservation in Urban Environments
In the late 1980’s, a group of representatives from the metropolitan regional government (Metro), non-profit organizations, local governments and citizens formed to collaborate on greenspace protection in the region around Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. As a result of their efforts, Federal funding was allocated to establish a formal partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Metro to initiate the Metropolitan Greenspaces Program. The program focuses on environmental education, habitat restoration, public outreach and regional planning throughout the bi-state, four-county metropolitan area. This partnership serves as one of only two national demonstration programs involving the Fish and Wildlife Service as a partner in local natural resource conservation efforts in urban environments.
Initially, the Metropolitan Greenspaces Program supported natural area inventories and mapping to develop a strategic conservation plan for the Metropolitan region. In 1995, voters approved a $135.6 million bond measure to implement the plan by publicly acquiring an extensive network of trails and greenspaces. Continued program funding of $300,000 annually has supported three grant programs and enabled the Fish and Wildlife Service to participate in regional planning and policy development efforts. Under the auspices of the program, a variety of integrated regulatory and non-regulatory tools are being used to protect greenspaces, water quality, floodplains, and fish and wildlife habitat.
Covering more than 5,000 acres and containing old growth trees and many types of wildlife, Portland's Forest Park is one of the largest natural forested urban parks in the U.S. A 1982 wildlife survey identified more than 112 species of birds and mammals in the park.3 It serves as the anchor for Portland's regional parks, trails, and greenspaces system. The Metropolitan Greenspaces Master Plan, adopted in 1992 by the Metro Council, describes a vision for a unique regional system of parks, natural areas, greenways, and trails for wildlife and people. The plan, being implemented by local park providers, schools, businesses, and citizen groups, identifies 57 urban natural areas and 34 trail and greenway corridors that define the green infrastructure for the Portland metropolitan region.
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