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A bi-monthly round-up of news about the Willamette and Columbia
February 1, 2013 Image: Sellwood Bridge's Big Move by Oregon Dep't. of Transportation |
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Events, Trips, and Other River Happenings
 Slough Celebration Gala. February 8, 6 -- 9:30 pm, Melody Ballroom, 615 Southeast Alder Street, Portland, OR 97214. "...an evening of glamor and entertainment at the 14th Annual Slough Celebration! Help ... celebrate our 2012 Slough Award recipients. And help us raise funds for education, restoration, and activities. The event will include a silent auction, raffle and special appeal. Individual reservations are $55 (includes one drink ticket).
Raptor Road Trip. February 9, 9 am to 2 pm. "...an incredibly cool event that celebrates birds of prey that winter here in Portland. The event is a self-guided tour of four sites on Sauvie Island.. The event is a self-guided tour of four sites on Sauvie Island. ... $10 per vehicle." Portland Audubon.
Polar Plunge Portland. February 9, Broughton Beach, Columbia River "The Polar Plunge is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations, and businesses to support Special Olympics Oregon athletes by jumping, walking or slowly crawling into the frigid and icy Oregon waters. The event is open to the public, and all spectators are welcome free of charge. ... Participants must raise a minimum of $50 for the privilege of taking a wintry dip in an icy body of water in February and will receive a commemorative long-sleeve t-shirt and a bowl of soup, plus bragging rights!"
Winter birds at Smith and Bybee Wetlands. Saturday, Feb 16, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm. $6 per adult or $11 per family.
Baltimore Woods Planting Day. February 23, 9 am to 1 pm, 6600 N. Catlin Ave, Portland. "SOLVE and its partners are working to enhance a number of sites near Baltimore Woods. Volunteers will be planting native trees and shrubs to restore this urban watershed." SOLVE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UN Picks Portland as North American Host City for World Environment Day. In acknowledgment of this community's efforts to safeguard the environment, the United Nations Environment Program Regional Office of North America has invited Portland to host World Environment Day (WED), June 5, 2013. The official announcement of Portland as WED host will be on February 13th at City Council. A kaleidoscope of activities and celebrations is being planned between Earth Day (April 22) and June 5th--and the community (individuals, families, schools, communities of faith, businesses and organizations of all makes and models) will be encouraged to offer their voices and events as part of World Environment Day festivities. More local details about Portland's celebration of WED will soon be available. In the meantime, to learn more about the UN's WED, click here.
International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment. In conjunction with World Environment Day, Portland will help sponsor the International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment. The theme for this year's competition is "Water: Where Does It Come From?" Students are invited to produce original artworks that focus on water as the source of all life on Earth. This is a global competition with a top prize of $1,000 (plus other honors). In addition, two Portland's Best prizes will be awarded to local students whose artwork exemplifies the best in the area. The entry deadline is March 15, 2013. To learn more and download the entry packet, click here.
Grant funds available for watershed projects. "The Bureau of Environmental Services is inviting proposals for community-based projects that benefit neighborhoods and improve watershed health in the City of Portland. The Community Watershed Stewardship Program (CWSP) provides grants of up to $10,000 subject to 2013-2014 budget approval. Applications are due by Friday, March 29, 2013 at 4:00 p.m." City of Portland Environmental Services News Release, undated
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Image: ODOT
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Watch Portland Move an Entire Bridge in One Day. The Atlantic Cities, January 23.
38 second video of Sellwood Bridge's Big Move (from eastside)
OPB article and timelapse video (from Westside)
Dish soap used to help move Sellwood Bridge. "The process to move the 3,400-ton steel truss of the Sellwood Bridge went without a hitch last week - thanks in part to the use of dish soap. ... In addition to providing lubrication, dish soap - unlike alternative lubricants like oil and grease - would not pollute the river if some dripped off of the bridge."
Daily Journal of Commerce, January 25 (subscription req'd to view entire article)
Sellwood Bridge coughs up the year's first spring chinook, but project alters boating, fishing on the Willamette River. OregonLive.com, January 26
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Why Vigor Industrial needs a bigger drydock. "Vigor Industrial, the Portland-based ship repair firm with properties on Swan Island, in Puget Sound and in Alaska, has agreed to buy what will be the largest floating drydock in the country for $40 million... When it is installed in Portland, Vigor will be able to bid on larger ship repair contracts, including cruise ships and military jobs."OregonLive.com, January 14
Marine Board, City of Portland Settle on Use of RiverPlace docks. "The Board also approved the City of Portland's request to re-pay grant funding they received from the Board to make repairs to the Riverplace docks on the Willamette River. The City managed the docks for uses other than strictly serving recreational boaters, which resulted in non-compliance with the grant requirements. The Board accepted the proposed repayment... for $237,499.84 in state boater funds and $49,833.26 in federal Tier One Boating Infrastructure Grant funds. Repayment of these funds terminates the grant. These funds will be applied to future grants." Oregon State Marine Board news release, January 15
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 Gleason boat ramp on the Columbia River closed this winter for repaving. "Columbia River boaters won't be able to use the M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp until spring because of a repaving project [which] will improve parking, create on-site stormwater treatment and add permanent restrooms. The construction was timed to take place during the slow boating season to avoid hurting the salmon that migrate in early fall and spring. " Metro News, Jan. 11 (Image: Metro) Marine Board approves more funds for M. James Gleason Boat Ramp Facility. "Metro requested an increase ... in order to help cover higher than anticipated costs for the final phase of construction ... The total project is $1.8 million." Oregon State Marine Board news release, Jan. 15 --------------------- NoPo Greenway projects seek funding support. "The other project on the list ... was a proposal to prep the northernmost segment (also known as segment 1) of the North Portland Greenway Trail for construction. Portland Parks & Recreation and Metro are asking ODOT for $799,000 to do full engineering on four miles of this project from Kelley Point Park to Chimney Park (a separate grant application has been made to do the actual construction)." BikePortland, January 29 Steelhead for lunch? "This river otter eating a steelhead was recently spotted in the middle of the Reed College campus at Reed Lake, which is the headwaters of Crystal Spring Creek." CityGreen Blog, January 28 Salmon Diaries - Highlights from the 2012 Volunteer Coho Surveyors. An inside Look at JCWC's Latest Citizen Science Project Johnson Creek Watershed Council, January 11  Oregon to haze sea lions on Willamette River. "A boat crew armed with seal bombs and shotguns loaded with firecrackers will be back on the Willamette River this year trying to keep sea lions from chowing down on salmon bottled up at Willamette Falls." KGW.com, January 29 (Image: OpenCage) American Forests--Urban Forests Case Studies Include Portland and the Metro region. "The Portland case study focuses particularly on Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services' Grey to Green program and watershed planning; Portland Parks and BES partnerships with Friends of Trees; the Tualatin Basin's Clean Water Services green infrastructure approaches to cooling water in the Tualatin River; regional growth management and The Intertwine Alliance." Emailed by Mike Houck. Portland fulfills its final legal requirement to officially end the CSO program. "The City of Portland has completed the last legal requirement in its 20-year program to control combined sewer overflows, officially bringing the $1.4-billion program to a close. Bureau of Environmental Services Director Dean Marriott briefed the Portland City Council today on the program's successful completion." City of Portland Environmental Services News Release, undated
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Image: Mult. Co. Drainage Dist.
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Levee holds back flood of changes. "The 18.5-mile Columbia River levee and related structures protect $20 billion worth of property, including Portland International Airport and the city's backup water supply, from deluge up to eight months a year. Now, in response to levee failures in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, federal authorities say thousands of trees, buildings and other structures permitted in past decades atop the Columbia River levee pose safety concerns - and may need to be removed or altered." Portland Tribune, January 31
Wapato Access Restoration Project. "The Estuary Partnership is in the process of finalizing the design and permitting for the Wapato Access Restoration Project, which is planned for construction in the late summer of 2013. Wapato Access is a 156 acre nature preserve owned by Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department, located on Sauvie Island along the Multnomah Channel." Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership E Update, February 2013
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Arch Bridge rehab final cost: $14.9M."ODOT says its project to reconstruct the Arch Bridge between Oregon City and West Linn is 99.99 percent complete and will finish ahead of the final contract date of March 31." Portland Tribune, January 23
Student volunteers bring ferns home to Canemah Bluff Natural Area. "Planting project assists with Metro's broader restoration goals at the natural area. About 40 high school students from Oregon City Service Learning Academy helped stage a homecoming this month at Metro's Canemah Bluff Natural Area...which overlooks the Willamette River south of Oregon City." Metro News, January 18
Eugene's EWEB Riverfront Master Plan goes to hearing. "... key features of the new development code include: A combination of traditional zoning and form-based urban design standards to shape redevelopment and control future uses on the site.; Customized standards that enable the adaptive reuse of buildings, including the Steam Plant, Operations Warehouse and Midgley's building.; Sustainable development strategies, including green streets, eco-roofs and district energy systems. ; A riverfront setback that protects over three acres of riverfront area from development.; Policies and guidelines for riverfront park, open space and cultural landscape area improvements.; A framework that includes eight acres of parks and open space, 14 acres of mixed use development, and five acres of public right-of-way (streets and paths). Image: City of Eugene
To Aid ESA-Listed Salmonids, Corps Proposes Removing 1930s Lower Sandy River Dam. "A 750-foot long, 45-foot wide, 8-foot high dam built in the 1930s would be removed next summer under a proposal aimed at restoring habitat in southwest Oregon's lower Sandy... The project would revitalize what was historically the "main" channel from the mainstem Sandy to the Columbia.... Much of the project would be funded by the Corps, with help from the Portland Water Bureau [which] has agreed to partially fund dam removal, as habitat restoration is a requirement of a biological opinion issued by NOAA Fisheries for the city's continued operation of the Bull Run Reservoir." Columbia Basin Bulletin, January 11
Retail hub planned for former lumber yard site. "A 26.5-acre Washougal property along the Columbia River will be redeveloped by the Port of Camas-Washougal and Vancouver-based Killian Pacific. ... Plans call for turning it into a commercial and retail hub featuring restaurants, grocery stores and a waterfront trail."
Daily Journal of Commerce, January 29 (subscription req'd to view entire article)
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Image: Port of Camas-Washougal
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| Fun / Of Note |
A river of words. "Oregon's rivers run through the poems, illustrations, prose and photographs -- as interpreted by the state's children -- in the annual Honoring Our Rivers anthology." OregonLive.com, January 21 
Honoring Our River Receives Grant to Work with Portland High School. "With the support of an educational project grant awarded by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, HOR will be teaming with art and writing classrooms at Cleveland High School in southeast Portland. ... Participating authors include Robin Cody and Brian Doyle; artists include Jen Delos Reyes, co-director of the Art and Social Practice MFA program at Portland State University and the team of Bruce Conkle and Marne Lucas (Eco-Baroque project). After the artist visits, the Cleveland students will develop creative works for exhibition in April at the Disjecta Contemporary Art Center." Honoring Our Rivers January Newsletter. More information at www.honoringourrivers.org
Exploring the Intertwine. "Imagine commuting by canoe from Estacada to Vancouver..." PSU Metroscape, Winter 2013
Dredging of Duwamish Waterway Superfund site in Seattle begins. "A major part of the cleanup of Seattle's Duwamish Waterway is under way. The Boeing Co. says it has started dredging the lower Duwamish near the site of its former World War II-era airplane factory, known as Plant 2. The factory turned out B-17 bombers and was home to "Rosie the Riveter," the women who built thousands of planes during the war." OregonLive.com, January 11. More info at EPA Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund website.
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To view past River News Digests, click here.
NOTE: River News Digest is a compilation of interesting items and announcements relating to rivers-with a focus on better understanding, enjoying, and caring for our local rivers, while touching on items from around the country and the world. Please note much of the information is from sources other than the City of Portland [like news media, non-profit organizations, and other government agencies]. The Rivers Office lists these items for information purposes only and is not responsible for their content.
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