Like any good hike, the journey to preserve the Portland metropolitan area’s natural treasures warrants a stop along the way to reflect on where the region has come from and where it’s going.
That's why Metro is engaging the community this summer with the "It's Our Nature" outreach initiative. You might catch a short film during movie previews, hear a message on the radio or chat with the natural areas team at your local farmers market. You can get out in the wild with Metro’s naturalists, or ponder the meaning of place at an outdoor event series co-hosted by Oregon Humanities. And you'll find lots of new photography and videos on the natural areas web pages, where you can explore an interactive storytelling map.
There's a big story to tell: By approving natural areas bond measures in 1995 and 2006, voters have allowed Metro’s Natural Areas Program to preserve 11,000 acres and counting, protect 90 miles of river and stream banks and open three major nature parks. The program has also planted 1.7 million trees and shrubs and supported hundreds of community projects.
Across the region, salmon are returning to streams where they haven’t been seen in decades. Oak trees are getting the sunlight they need to survive into old age, helping reverse their dramatic decline in the Willamette Valley. Families are hiking and bird-watching at new nature parks near Beaverton, Wilsonville and Happy Valley.
"Some of this is because of luck. We happen to live in a very beautiful place," Metro Council President Tom Hughes said this January at his inaugural address. "Some of it is because we have appreciated that and recognized that and planned to preserve that to the greatest degree possible."