In 2024, Metro doubled the amount of money invested by its 2019 parks and nature bond measure compared to the year before. Investments in a completely new water system and operational facilities at Blue Lake Regional Park, grant awards based on the votes of community members, and the protection of nearly 300 acres of natural areas led this increase in spending.
The programs funded by the 2019 parks and nature bond measure are running at full speed.
It took a while to get to this point. The bond measure introduced several new programs to Metro's parks and nature work, including the Nature in Neighborhoods community choice program, and its criteria for racial equity, meaningful community engagement and addressing climate change meant existing programs had to be updated. Doing that well required thoughtfulness and time to make sure we were truly listening to community members. In this year's report, you'll see how that work has paid off.
For more than a decade, the Parks and Nature Annual Report has provided the people of greater Portland a look at what Metro has done with their tax dollars to, as our mission statement says, “protect water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and creates opportunities to enjoy nature close to home through a connected system of parks, trails and natural areas.” The annual report is both a snapshot of Metro’s efforts over the past fiscal year and a record of how that year has built on more than a quarter century of investments, partnerships and collaboration.
As we continue the work that the region has asked us to do, it’s important we improve the tools that allows us to highlight the impact of our work on behalf of the voters of the region. More importantly, we want to create tools that help support conversations with community members and partners about how we’re doing and to understand if there are areas where we can do better.
So, starting this year Metro is also providing a more detailed evaluation of the impacts of investments from the 2019 parks and nature bond measure. The 2019 Parks and Nature Bond Evaluation digs deeper into bond investments and activities than the annual report has, looking to what outcomes have been accomplished in the short, medium and long term.
The 2019 bond measure made racial equity, meaningful community engagement and resilience to climate change major criteria for all of its projects. The evaluation tracks and reports on how well we are meeting these and other goals.
We invite you to explore this evaluation story and let us know how these communication tools resonate with you.
The annual report will continue to be a way Metro stays accountable for the region’s investments in nature, which are possible because voters have strongly supported three bond measures and a local option levy that has been renewed three times. By sharing the same milestones we’ve tracked for years, the annual report provides a chance to compare apples-to-apples numbers across time.
Let’s learn more about how your tax dollars were spent from July 2023 to June 2024.