Dignitaries toured the Orenco Woods site on Jan. 5. Reporting from Hillsboro
A former golf course at the core of Hillsboro started a new era Thursday, with 75 people on hand to celebrate its transformation into a protected natural area and future nature park.
Metro and Hillsboro bought the 42-acre Orenco Woods property last month, using funds from the region’s voter-approved 2006 natural areas bond measure. They plan to sell a small portion for development and put the proceeds toward creating a park.
Rock Creek snakes through the natural area, which is nestled among the MAX Blue Line, Orenco Elementary School and the historic Orenco neighborhood. Some day, the Rock Creek Trail is expected to traverse the property’s trees and rolling hills.
A bald eagle soared overhead Thursday as neighbors and project partners arrived to enjoy the rare January sunshine, learn more about Orenco Woods and commemorate its new chapter.
"Orenco Woods is really a significant property – not only for the region, but also for the city of Hillsboro and the surrounding community," Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington told the crowd.
Metro and Hillsboro split the $4 million price tag, with Metro’s portion coming from the money that voters invested in buying regional natural areas. Hillsboro’s share came partly from funds that Metro distributes to cities, counties and local park providers to invest in nature close to home. The purchase was negotiated by The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that specializes in land conservation.
The land – once part of the Oregon Nursery Company, which gave Orenco its name – later became a golf course. Metro Council President Tom Hughes, a longtime Hillsboro resident and former mayor, joked that any golf balls found at the natural area were probably his. "I buried some out here in a way that’s going to take major excavation to find them," he said.
After its incarnation as a golf course, the land was platted as a residential development. But when the economy crashed, so did the housing market, the property value and the development plans.
"All of the sudden, a piece of property that was well out of reach of all of us combined becomes very doable. Still, it took a good team to pull this off," Hughes said, thanking The Trust for Public Land and the City of Hillsboro.
Hillsboro Mayor Jerry Willey said protecting Orenco Woods speaks to three of the city’s core principles: partnership, livability and sustainability. The city will involve neighbors in helping shape a master plan for the future park, while collaborating with Metro as well.
"We know that we need to have parks here to make our community very viable, very livable – and to keep people happy," Willey said. "This is going to be one of the gems, I think, in our park system."
Orenco Woods got off to an enthusiastic start Thursday, with a fight song performed by the marching band at neighboring Orenco Elementary School and a nature walk led by two Hillsboro naturalists.
"Imagine the amazing connections those kids are going to have with Orenco Woods," said wetland education specialist Sarah Pinnock, rattling off a list of questions the children might ask. "What lives here? Where can you find owl pellets? What kind of scat is that on the ground? What kind of birds are going to be here? What’s going to happen here?"