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Earth Day projects bring volunteers to Metro natural areas
Volunteers are pitching in on special Earth Day projects at Metro's natural areas – and it's not too late to join them.Read more...
View ArticleCelebrate Earth Day: get informed, get outside, get green
Earth Day offers an excellent chance to consider many opportunities to green lifestyles, celebrate the natural beauty of the region and have fun outside and while seeing how we can make a difference to...
View ArticleMultnomah Channel wetlands play a crucial role in river health
Adjacent to Sauvie Island and a short walk from the traffic of U.S. 30, a quiet, undistinguished marsh is testament to conservation efforts that have restored the historic function of an important...
View ArticleNatural areas levy passes, work could start soon across the region
The region's voters approved a property tax levy to pay for parks and natural areas funding Tuesday, giving Metro about $10 million a year for maintenance and restoration at its properties.Read more...
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Grant program helps foster partnerships, build community through restoration
The Meldrum Bar Park Habitat, Education and Job Training Project, run by Wilderness International and the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, has been recommended by Metro’s grant review committee to...
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Metro Council awards $1.2 million in community nature grants
Projects will restore habitat and engage residents across the regionThe Metro Council awarded nearly $1.2 million in community grants Thursday to help nature thrive across the Portland metropolitan...
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Metro's Oxbow Regional Park celebrates Free Fishing Weekend
On June 1 and 2, Oxbow Regional Park, along with the entire state of Oregon, is celebrating Free Fishing Weekend. This means people wanting to fish the Sandy River this Saturday and Sunday won't need a...
View ArticleNatural areas levy produces jobs in restoration, stewardship
Following the region's passage of the parks and natural areas management levy in May, Metro is hiring for a variety of positions to accomplish the levy's goals, which include park improvements, habitat...
View ArticleNative plant contracts provide security for Metro, partner nurseries
Metro is working on a proposal to growers to provide plants not only for the coming year, but a few down the road as well. The proposal, called a grow-out contract, provides both Metro and the...
View ArticleDevelopment, clean air and appeals: A look at the Metro Council's agenda for...
The Metro Council is back from recess. Here's the top 5 things to watch for in the rest of 2013.Read more...
View ArticleA look at GreenScene's past and future
Metro's nature publication began in 1993 with "“Trip Into Nature," a listing of hikes, outdoor events and nature-themed classes. The year before, the Metropolitan Greenspaces Master Plan described the...
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Nature University graduate gives back
Crawling on cold, wet ground in February was not what Maggie Fromholtz expected to love. "I was almost a little hesitant," she says of her first animal tracking outing earlier this year.Read more...
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Nature in Neighborhoods conservation education grants available for projects...
Want to teach people about nature, create local community partnerships or foster leaders to connect people with water quality, fish and wildlife habitat in the Portland metropolitan area? Do you need...
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Celebrate salmon and the Sandy River
Nothing quite says "Pacific Northwest" like the annual return of salmon from the ocean, fighting upstream to spawn and die in the rivers of their birth. In October, witness this ancient, iconic...
View ArticleRegional fall favorites: places to visit this season
Fall in Oregon is a quick flash of bright leaves and crisp, sunny afternoons, here and gone again all too quickly. Before this ephemeral season slips once more through our fingers, view this list of...
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Independent committee: Metro is making ‘steady progress’ on natural areas...
About 71 percent of a $227.4 million natural areas bond measure has been invested, according to the latest report from the Natural Areas Program Performance Oversight Committee. The committee said...
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Mount Talbert Nature Park reopens after overnight fire damages restrooms
Investigators are looking into a fire that damaged restrooms and temporarily closed Mount Talbert Nature Park around 1 a.m. Friday. The park reopened early Friday afternoon, but bathrooms will remain...
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Application period extended for 2014 Nature University
Nature University students are introduced to time-honored techniques of nature observation and principles of discovery learning. Students learn about common wildlife and plants, the ecology of wetlands...
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Nature park in Hillsboro receives strong support from Metro Council, community
Perhaps the most endearing example of community support for the Orenco Woods Nature Park in Hillsboro is a local student's drawing of a master plan for the park, rendered carefully in crayon. Orenco...
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What does the fox really say? Just ask Metro naturalists
Viral video provides learning opportunity for nature enthusiasts Note to Norwegian comedy-turned-rock duo Ylvis: A fox doesn't say "ring-ding-ding" or "wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow" or "hatee-hatee-hatee-ho."...
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After 36 years at Oxbow, ranger Bill Doran ready for the next chapter
It's the still moments that matter most, the Oxbow veteran says, the times when you sit tight and let nature happen instead of going out and seeking it.Read more...
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Collette "over the top" upbeat as Langley bids on Blue Heron property
Portland-based Langley Development is the latest bidder for the Blue Heron site adjacent to Willamette Falls. Langley bid $4.9 million for the site, which is held by a bankruptcy court trustee.Read...
View ArticleA Hyatt, a levy and development everywhere: Metro's 2013 stories of the year
The Portland region's government was busy on projects stretching across the area, from studying a transit line to Tualatin, to negotiating to build a hotel in Portland's Lloyd District, to helping with...
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Oxbow Regional Park: Life on nature's time
This summer, let your timetable slow to nature's pace. Reserve a campsite in the woods at Oxbow or come out for a day of hiking and river play.Read more...
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Making a splash for 50 years: Metro's Blue Lake and Oxbow regional parks...
This summer, two popular regional parks are celebrating half a century as public destinations. On July 12, Metro commemorates Oxbow and Blue Lake's 50th anniversaries with free admission and special...
View ArticleOutdoor burning prohibited at Oxbow Regional Park
A burn ban is in place in Multnomah County Fire District 10. Until further notice, all burning, including recreational campfires/fire pits, will not be allowed at Oxbow Regional Park.Read more...
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Gleason boat ramp closed to aid firefighters
Efforts to contain a wildfire on Government Island have closed Metro's M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramp indefinitely.Read more...
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Oxbow Regional Park burn ban lifted on Sept. 6, 2013
Campers at Oxbow Regional Park may once again enjoy recreational campfires in designated fire pits. A significant amount of rainfall enabled Multnomah County Fire District 10 officials to lift the burn...
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Young disc golfer to compete in national championship at Blue Lake
A seventh grader at R.A. Brown Middle School in Hillsboro, Nava recently took up volleyball and is looking forward to her 13th birthday in October. One thing that sets Nava apart from kids her age?...
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Get your hands on Metro's new annual parks pass
A new pass will let you enjoy a year's worth of visits and experiences at Metro's network of regional parks.Read more...
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Nichaqwli and Lewis & Clark story told through art and words at Blue Lake...
At the Nichaqwli (pronounced nee CHAHK lee) Monument at Blue Lake Regional Park, carved cedar house posts, canoe-shaped benches and a large-scale basalt net sinker remind us that a Chinook village once...
View ArticleRailroad deal helps trail, freight projects in North Portland
Two transportation projects got a boost Thursday after the Metro Council approved a land deal with the Union Pacific Corp.Read more...
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Off the hook fun: Get out and about with salmon, trout
Oxbow Regional Park marks Salmon Homecoming, while zoo touts new troutThe salmon’s annual return from the ocean might be the most iconic wildlife spectacle in the region. And at Metro’s Oxbow Regional...
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Metro regional parks and Oregon Zoo offer free admission for military...
Metro will acknowledge Veterans Day by offering free admission to Metro regional parks and the Oregon Zoo for military veterans and active military personnel, as well as family members who accompany...
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Brownfield program helps former gas station take step toward new life as park
The fenced-off empty lot next to Eichler Park in Beaverton may look about the same as it has for years. But for staff at Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, the unassuming enclosure,...
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Zoo seeks turtle, amphibian fans for cold-blooded conservation
Portland-area residents with a soft spot for turtles and amphibians can assist conservation efforts this winter by wading local wetlands.Read more...
View ArticleApply for Nature in Neighborhoods conservation education grants by Jan. 14
Want to teach people about nature, create community partnerships or foster leaders to connect people with water quality, fish and wildlife habitat in the Portland metropolitan area? Do you need funding...
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Chinook Landing Marine Park temporarily closed through Jan. 14, 2014
Metro's Chinook Landing Marine Park in Fairview will be closed through this weekend. A leak was detected in the water line underneath the main road leading into the facility late Tuesday afternoon and...
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Our Big Backyard magazine gives you the inside scoop, inspires you to get...
This week Metro debuts Our Big Backyard, a quarterly magazine that will bring you up to speed on parks, trails and natural areas – and introduce you to important choices facing the region. In each...
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A Canyon Rising: In Oregon City, Newell Creek Canyon is on the brink of a...
This year, the region is invited to help reconcile these dueling versions of Newell Creek – to transform it from a natural area with a lot of potential and a lot of problems into a beloved destination....
View ArticleOregon grape, Our Big Backyard's featured species
Oregon’s official state flower, Mahonia aquifolium, goes way back. Collected by Lewis and Clark, it has long been used by Native Americans for its healing powers. It’s the namesake of Mahonia Hall –...
View ArticleField Guide: Smith & Bybee Wetlands
Smith and Bybee Wetlands is a big surprise to many first-time visitors. Passing warehouses and railroad tracks in North Portland, you don’t expect to find two lakes bursting with trees, plants and...
View ArticleGeocachers hunt for buried treasure and new adventures
Geocaching is essentially a high-tech treasure hunt: real life hide-and-seeking based out of online communities. As the activity has grown, so has its presence at Metro parks. Geocaching.com, the...
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There's life in dead wood
One of the definitions for dead wood in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is "useless material." But that’s just a bad rap for the real stuff. From an ecological perspective, there’s no substitute for...
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Verde takes root: Metro grants help nonprofit grow, empower Cully neighborhood
THIS STORY APPEARED IN THE JANUARY 2014 EDITION OF OUR BIG BACKYARD MAGAZINE. LEARN MORENot every nonprofit would petition to take responsibility for a buried landfill. But when the City of Portland...
View ArticleThe Westside Trail's finish line is in sight
The blueprint for the Westside Trail is almost complete. After a two-year planning process led by Metro, a final draft of the master plan will be available for review and public comment from Feb. 6...
View ArticleGot a restoration project? Metro’s got Nature in Neighborhoods grants
Want to get rid of weeds, improve water quality, create wildlife habitat or otherwise restore nature across the Portland metropolitan area? Apply for a Metro Nature in Neighborhoods restoration...
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It's Our Nature: Learn its stories through nature immersion
Want to find mushrooms, follow cougar tracks and watch wild salmon spawn? Join a team of experienced naturalists to explore some of the region’s most spectacular places during the third year of Metro’s...
View ArticleBad weather forces cancellation of Feb. 8 Raptor Road Trip
The Feb. 8 Raptor Road Trip has been cancelled due to inclement weather. High winds, the accumulation of snow, and below-freezing temperatures combined to make travel difficult and potentially...
View ArticleA snowy day on the prairie at St. Johns Landfill
Thursday’s snow provided for some beautiful scenery at the former St. Johns Landfill, which is home to several species of birds and wildlife. Therese Mitchell, a landfill and environmental technician,...
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