Government Island, Oregon

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Government Island is a 1,760-acre island in the Columbia River north of Portland, Oregon in Multnomah County. Though Interstate 205 passes over it on the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, access to the island is only by boat. Government Island is known for its great blue heron colony [1] and the Government Island State Recreation Area (primitive camping, beaches). The interior of the island, off limits to the public, contains a seasonal cattle ranch and protected natural areas, including Jewett Lake. Many threatened or endangered wildlife species live on the island, including red-legged frog, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, pileated woodpecker, little willow flycatcher, olive-sided flycatcher, western meadowlark, horned grebe, red-necked grebe, bufflehead, purple martin, and possibly Columbia white-tailed deer.

According to Oregon Geographic Names, Government Island was first visited by British explorer Broughton in 1792 and American explorers Lewis and Clark in 1805, and acquired its current name after being appropriated by the U.S. military (to grow hay) in 1850.

The island (except for 224 acres on the east side owned by Metro) is owned by the Port of Portland. The Port acquired the entire island (as well as adjacent Lemon Island and McGuire Island) in 1969 in order to expand nearby Portland International Airport. Though those plans have been abandoned, it continues to control the land to prevent any uses incompatible with its location under the airport's primary flight path. In 1999 the Port sold a small parcel of the island to Metro, and leased the remainder to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for 99 years.