| Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
Part of the wetlands at Oaks Bottom |
|
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Portland, Oregon |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 141.22 acres (57.15 ha) |
| Created | 1959 |
| Operated by | Portland Parks & Recreation |
| Status | Open 5 a.m. to midnight; north parking lot closes at 10 p.m. |
Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is a city park of about 141 acres (57 ha) in southeast Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in a floodplain along the east bank of the Willamette River near Sellwood, the park is known for attracting a wide variety of birds.[2] In 1988, the park was named Portland's first wildlife refuge,[3] and in 2004, it was designated the city's first migratory bird park.[4]
Contents |
The enlongated park, which parallels the river, includes a large shallow lake on the east side of the Springwater Corridor. The Corridor is a hiking and biking path that also runs parallel to the river between Sellwood and downtown Portland.[5] Between the lake and the Corridor is a Portland Traction rail line on a berm.[3] Slightly south of the refuge are Sellwood Park and Sellwood Riverfront Park, and Oaks Amusement Park is to the west, near the river.[3] To the east, the top of a bluff above the lake is mainly residential, though one of the buildings is a mausoleum and crematorium with a huge Great Blue Heron mural overlooking the wetlands.[3] A 1-mile (1.6 km) hiking trail wraps around the east side of the lake beneath the bluff. A side trail connects the east trail with Sellwood Park.[5] To the north are mixed woodlands, shrubs, and a few open fields, and a trail crossing the north section of the refuge links the Corridor to a parking lot at the top of the bluff.[5] West of the north part of the refuge are two islands, East and Hardtack, that belong to the Ross Island group in the Willamette.[3] Ross Island is the site of a heron rookery.[2]
Before the Bottom became a park, the raised bed of the rail line had largely separated the wetlands from the river.[3] The south part of the wetlands had been altered by a sanitary landfill that the city acquired in 1969 to prevent its development as industrial land.[2] The city later filled the north end of the park with debris from construction of Interstate 405 through downtown Portland.[3] The plan in the early 1970s was to fill the rest of the wetlands and to use the space for museums, perhaps a motocross course, and a gondola lift to transport visitors from the top of the bluff to the park.[3] Public pressure from the Audubon Society of Portland, the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement Society, and The Nature Conservancy helped persuade the city to stop filling the wetlands.[3] In 1988, after many years of debate, officials designated Oaks Bottom as the first urban wildlife refuge in Portland.[3] Since then, Friends of Oaks Bottom, a volunteer group, has helped the city's parks department with trail maintenance, habitat restoration, and information services.[2]
In 2004, the park was named the city's first migratory bird park. Portland was one of five cities to receive $50,000 grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to establish such parks. Thousands of migratory birds visit the refuge during their annual north–south flights.[4]
As of 2010, more than 185 bird species have been recorded in the refuge including herons, egrets, hawks, Osprey, shorebirds, gulls, terns, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, grebes, falcons, vultures, waterfowl, and many others.[5] Vegetation, which varies from one part of the refuge to another, includes Oregon white oak, Pacific Madrone, ash, and black locust trees; ferns, Oregon-grape, Scotch broom, and poison oak, as well as rushes, sedges, and other plants.[3] Invasive species, gradually being replaced by physical removal and burning, include reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, Himalayan blackberry, and others.[3]
To regulate the flow of water into and out of the wetlands, the parks department adds or removes boards at a small dam near the railroad berm. The idea is to replicate conditions that existed when the wetlands were fully connected to the river.[3] Part of the water in the wetlands comes from natural springs, and part of the water comes from the river, when it runs high in the winter.[6] Beavers have at times foiled the plan by damming the small stream that carries water between the lake and the river. The parks department has foiled the rodents by running a perforated pipe through the beaver dam.[3]