A bi-monthly round-up of news about the Willamette & Columbia Rivers...and more! |
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Image by Merlin Alix Smith, NOAA Fisheries |
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Events & Activities |
Portland Salmon Celebration. May 12, 10 am to 1 pm. Enjoy a Mother's Day Salmon Celebration at OMSI! (And/or take-in Mother's Day Brunch at OMSI's new Theory eatery from 8 to 11 am). Kids activities, salmon-inspired art, salmon-snacks, and tips on how we all can keep our salmon runs healthy.
River Discovery: Willamette Narrows. May 21, 5:30-8:30pm. Join Willamette Riverkeeper staff to "explore one of the most unique and beautiful reaches of the Willamette river! Located above Willamette Falls, Willamette Narrows is known for its scenic rocky shores and islands." Willamette Riverkeeper, May Riverscape newsletter
Vanport Flood Tour. May 30, 4 pm-6:00 pm "Join Environmental Service's Susan Barthel and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council on a commemorative tour of the Vanport Flood. Vanport City, developed on the floodplain of the Columbia River as World War II war worker housing, disappeared in the flood of 1948. More than 100,000 people called the community home between 1943-1948. Vanport was also home to returning World War II veterans, returning Japanese internees and Vanport College, which became Portland State University." City Green Blog, May 7
Celebrate World Environment Day at the Rose Festival. "On June 5 -- the official date of World Environment Day -- a special rally will be held in the Rose Festival's entertainment venue, the RoZone. This part of Tom McCall Waterfront Park will be filled with fun, educational activities for children of all ages--all free to the public. Activities include story-telling, mask-making, fly casting and fly tying, trash art and the chance to be part of the Procession of the Species, a mini-parade around the waterfront featuring folks dressed as their favorite animals, led by Joy Now performers and stilt-walkers." Portland Rose Festival
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 Honoring Our Rivers (an annual student anthology showcasing Oregon student writing and artwork on rivers and watersheds) has record setting year. "Organizers received over 900 submissions from 88 schools throughout Oregon, and the jury-review panel selected over 125 student works to be published alongside professional writers such as Robert Michael Pyle, David Hedges, Gina Ochsner, Lillian Pitt and Julie Keefe. The annual HOR Student Showcase will take place at 4 pm on May 19th at Powell's City of Books in downtown Portland.
HOR cover image: Snowy Plover by Hayden Hopkins, Grade 9, South Salem H.S.
Cleveland High School artists find their inner naturalist. "Cleveland High School students found an artistic outlet and opportunity in the Honoring Our Rivers contest this spring. ... students in three classrooms developed their own artworks and were rewarded with a gallery exhibit at the Disjecta Center for Contemporary Art in North Portland. The "Take Me to the River" project featured guest presentations by leading Oregon authors, visual artists and Willamette River enthusiasts." Portland Public School News, April 27
See photos courtesy of Katharine Kimball on flickr.
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Willamette River recreation effort gets award. "Three organizations [have received Travel Portland's] President's Award for contributions to the visitor industry. They include: Voodoo Doughnuts, ... the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory...; and Will Levenson of Popina Swimwear, for his fun-filled efforts to compel Portland to embrace the recreational potential of the Willamette River." Portland Business Journal, May 6
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Hales' budget nixes Rivers Office. "Saying he spared no "sacred cows" to fill the city's projected $21.5 million funding gap, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales released his 2013-14 budget proposal Tuesday morning, calling for 183 fewer staff positions, including 55 in the Police Bureau and 42 in the fire bureau. Hales proposed to eliminate city funding of two popular programs, mounted horse patrols and the Buckman swimming pool, and close down the Office of Healthy Working Rivers." Portland Tribune, April 30
Seattle firm proposes 280-unit South Waterfront residential development. "A proposal submitted to the Portland Bureau of Development Services by Harbor Urban LLC shows a six-story, 280-unit building with underground parking and street-level retail." OregonLive.com, April 29
Jantzen Beach project builds for future. Portland Tribune, April 25
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 Jordan Schnitzer: Mulling over the mill " ...the Portland Development Commission approved a memorandum of understanding with Harsch Investment Properties for it to explore redevelopment potential of the century-old former flour mill. The PDC is jump-starting the effort with a $350,000 predevelopment loan to assist Harsch with due diligence and schematic designs. Harsch will match that investment over the next 12 months. [Jordan] Schnitzer has high hopes, but said Centennial Mills is the most complicated site he's ever seen - many of the aged structures have weathered significantly. Nevertheless, he can't deny his nostalgic feelings about the ex-mill." DJCOregon.com, April 10
Centennial Mills: video presentation to Portland Development Commission. PDC, April 9 [Ed. note: time 0:28:38 to about 1:11:28]
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West Hayden Island back as Planning Bureau publicly vets 3rd plan. OregonLive.com, May 6
Steve Duin: Portland's Intertwine a natural place one step removed. "Treasures like Smith Lake still survive within the city limits, Houck reminds us, because in the 25 years since Metro held its first regional park forum, voters have passed two bond measures that preserved -- at a cost of $363 million -- more than 16,000 acres in the Portland area. On a fall day, Houck has stood on the lake's viewing platform and counted 450 great egrets, none of which cared that an auto-wrecking yard is parked 400 feet off the water." OregonLive.com, April 29
Once a Junkyard, Now a Park. "David McFarland, a Portland documentary filmmaker, recently produced this video [see below] about Whitaker Ponds. David's son visited the ponds and shared his excitement and wonder with his father. Maybe this preview of the Whitaker Ponds park in NE Portland's Columbia Slough Watershed will inspire you to get out and experience some nature in the city..." City Green Blog, May 2
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Whitaker Ponds: A Forest Among Factories |
Portland's newest dog park, The Fields Neighborhood Park, opens. "The long-awaited, 3.2-acre park is the city's 33rd dog park, and the first dog off-leash area to be designed with dogs in mind literally from the ground up." [Ed. note: The Park is directly across from-and in the future may be connected to-Centennial Mills, a historic riverfront site slated for redevelopment. As stated in the Park's design principles: "The Fields is a pivotal site. Connections to and through the Park are critically important as is a physical connection to the River as defined in the Framework Plan. These connections will serve both pedestrians and bicyclists."] OregonLive.com, May 6
Proposal to cut Oregon Symphony's big-bang Waterfront Park concert. "For years, the Oregon Symphony closed the summer season with a giant, free concert at Waterfront Park. Music, fireworks and howitzers blasted away on the banks of the Willamette River, drawing thousands of people to the bowl area south of the Hawthorne Bridge. But with the city facing a budget gap of $21.5 million, the city's arts funding arm is proposing to cut funding for the concert this year. The city's budget committee votes on the mayor's budget May 29." OregonLive.com, May 6
 Multnomah Channel wetlands play a crucial role in river health. "Like turning back the environmental clock, Metro and its partners have returned the Multnomah Channel natural area wetlands to much like it was when it first was mapped more than 150 years ago." Metro News, May 2 (Metro image)
Canzano: Spring chinook salmon get a raw deal on the river. "It seems silly that we work so hard to raise salmon, then present them with an unrelenting gauntlet and low odds. We've placed too many obstacles in their path. We haven't done enough to protect the rivers. We've opened the door for uninvited guests, too. The fish advocates, many of whom are just happy to have somewhere to fish, will tell you this Willamette spring run (estimated around 60,000 total fish) falls squarely in the 10-year moving average. The spring salmon run is part of our history. It's a piece of who we are, and we should protect it. It feels like the whole saga could be so much easier for everyone. And since we're interested in growth, we should aim to fall above the moving average, and thrive." OregonLive.com, May 4
Marine law enforcement training on the Willamette River (video). OregonLive.com, May 2
Metro's M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp upgrade receives additional funds. "Metro recently received $400,000 from the Oregon State Marine Board and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to construct additional car parking and landscaping at the M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp launch point on the Columbia River." Metro News, April 22
Slideshow: Crews begin construction of PMLR bridge deck. DJCOregon.com, April 24
Portland Harbor Companies Ask EPA to Drop $125,500 Superfund Fine. "Companies expected to pay for a Superfund cleanup of the Portland Harbor met this morning in Portland with an all-star summit-four members of Oregon's U.S. Congressional delegation, Mayor Charlie Hales and staff from the Environmental Protection Agency-to hammer out a deal for cleaning Willamette River sediment. But those companies are bridling at a $125,500 fine the EPA issued last month over their studies of how dangerous the river is." Willamette Week, May 1
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 To manage the Columbia River, we need a new treaty for a new era: Guest opinion. "The Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada has been a hybrid of fears and profits since its ratification in 1964. Narrowly designed for flood control and optimized hydropower production, the treaty has locked in 1960s priorities that do not reflect the modern values and considerations of our time." OregonLive.com, May 4
Oregon House Passes Columbia River Treaty Bill. "House Bill 3491A, drafted by Rep. [Cliff] Bentz, directs the Governor to report to the Oregon Legislative Assembly on discussions relating to the Columbia River Treaty. Reports from the Governor are required every 90 days beginning this September." Albany Tribune, April 29
Talking Columbia River Treaty. "With the future of the Columbia River Treaty up for negotiations, residents across the Northwest are learning how potential changes could impact water flows and uses in the basin. In particular, the treaty's ultimate fate might have a bearing on water supply for Eastern Oregon irrigators, as well as continued flood control and power generation throughout the region." East Oregonian, May 1 as found on EarthFix
Image: Mike Houck
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 Fighting an invasion-The city of Eugene is attacking a fast-growing weed in Delta Ponds. "An invasive South American creeping water primrose is wreaking havoc at a Eugene park that the city and other government agencies have spent $9 million trying to turn into a showcase of native-species ecological restoration. ... As part of its Delta Ponds restoration effort, the city in 2011 built ditches and culverts that let the Willamette River flow into, through and out from the Delta Ponds. Now, that has opened the possibility that bits of the invasive weed will be carried out into and contaminate the Willamette River. The city says it didn't realize the severity of the weed infestation at the ponds until the river-connection project was under way." Register Guard, April 29 [ Image: City of Eugene]
Planners to hear public input on Willamette Falls mill site. "Oregon City has received bids from 14 consultants who'd like to lead visioning and master planning for the 23-acre Willamette Falls site of the bankrupt Blue Heron Paper Co. in collaboration with Metro, Clackamas County and the state. The resulting vision could reconnect the public with North America's second largest waterfall, significant wildlife habitat, and an important cultural site for native tribes along the Willamette River." Portland Tribune, April 24
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Fun / Of Note |
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 'River Legend,' once a downtown secret, gets a new life: Oregonian Editorial sketchbook. "The newly renovated Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building ... is handsome by anyone's estimate. ... a Portland sculpture [had been] blocked from public view at the same federal building. Until now. ... And so the 5-ton sculpture, hand-cut from Columbia Basin basalt and named "River Legend" for tribal crossings of the Columbia River, was placed on the building's plaza, viewable not from the street but only by the building's occupants and visitors. ... "River Legend" may be decades old, but its energy is all new and very, very public." OregonLive.com, May 8 [Rivers Office photo]
Steamships on the Willamette 'gone bad'. "In the mid-1800s, Oregonians hailed steamboats as an empowering sign of state progress ... Steamboats could carry up to 500 tons of cargo, rapidly transporting grain and produce from the Columbia River Gorge and Corvallis, to the Pacific. Mass transport of livestock, timber and lumber, salted salmon, mail and even gold dust (from Idaho to the San Francisco Mint) revolutionized the Western economy. But the bottom of the Willamette River is mired with the personal belongings, bones and dreams of countless lives lost to steamboat catastrophes. Steam engine explosions peaked in the mid-19th century. ... the explosion of the Gazelle claimed more than two dozen lives just above Willamette Falls in 1854." Portland Tribune, March 27
Company develops solar-powered floating device to clean water. "Beaverton startup company Puralytics won a $53,000 grant from Oregon BESt to help commercialize a solar-powered stormwater treatment device that floats atop retaining ponds or other water and removes contaminants. The device could be used in ditches along highways and parking lots, to prevent contaminants from reaching streams." Portland Tribune, April 17
28,000 Rivers Disappeared in China: What Happened? "As recently as 20 years ago, there were an estimated 50,000 rivers in China ... But now, according to China's First National Census of Water, more than 28,000 of these rivers are missing." The Atlantic, April 29
How the Highway Killed Washington's Waterfront. "On L'Enfant's map, the Capitol and its monumental surrounds were projected to be the focal point...of boulevards extending to the Southwest waterfront. Off paper, L'Enfant's grand vision for the federal city was quickly forgotten. Despite a lengthy frontage along the Potomac and Anacostia, the two prominent rivers play only minor roles in the life of the city and its evolution." The Atlantic Cities, May 8
L.A. Wants to Turn Its Concrete 'River' Into a Real River. The Atlantic Cities, May 3
Why Sewage Plants Are Especially Vulnerable to Climate Change. "Unlike housing and transportation, which are nice to have near the coast but technically movable, the very function of sewage plants all but requires them to locate near waterways. ... When a storm surge arrives, the plants have little choice but to re-route sewage - untreated or only partially treated - directly into the water to avoid flooding." The Atlantic Cities, May 2
Watch and Listen as Crystallizing Lake Ice Needles Tinkle Like Shattering Chandeliers. Indian Country Today, April 29:
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To view past River News Digests, click here.
To submit news, email Rick Bastasch, or call 503.823.0275
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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