City Trees

www.urban-forestry.com 33 Portlanders love their natural areas—and there are a lot to love! Our city's natural areas comprise over 10,000 acres (4047 ha) of Portland's landscape, the very fabric of our city. The green spaces are woven into the visual identity, intrinsic values, and core of what it means to be a Portlander. And Portland Parks & Recreation is the proud steward of this public land. Green spaces make Portland a place where people want to build their lives, grow their families, and expe- rience the intersection of city and nature. Portland voters have continued to support this quality of life, in part by voting for bond initiatives that dedicate funds to natural area acquisition. However, managing urban natural areas comes with many inherent challenges. Portland's population is ballooning; it is projected to grow by 42% by 2035. As our population increases, so do the pressures on natural areas such as Forest Park. How we prioritize protecting and restoring the natural resource values of our urban natural areas while providing sustainable access for park visi- tors is the management challenge of the day. Forest Park is a 5,200-acre (2104-ha) natural area in the heart of Portland. It is home to a diversity of wild- life not found in Portland outside of the Oregon Zoo. In the absence of fees and locked gates, it is challeng- ing to limit or control the level of park use. The key is education that begins before people even arrive at the trailhead. As our population expands and the park's popularity increases, crowded trailheads are becom- ing the norm. Single-occupancy vehicle access cannot be the future. Exploring carpooling, ride-share, shuttle services, and other alternative modes of access is essen- tial to encouraging sustainable access and preserving both environmental health and recreation experience. Once visitors step foot on the trail, behavior is critical. For example, the way people and their pets utilize the park has both social and environmental repercussions. Whether small or large, all dogs are viewed by wildlife as predators. At the same time, much of urban wild- life is hidden and elusive so a dog walker may not be fully aware of their pet's impact. Birds that nest on or near the ground are particularly susceptible to harm by off-leash dogs. Fragile amphibians and reptiles rely upon clean, quiet water bodies—so a dog romping through the water can cause significant harm to wild- life. Furthermore, unscooped dog waste creates sig- nificant water quality hazards and human health risk. At Portland Parks & Recreation we care for and pro- vide sustainable access to our natural areas. This mis- sion requires making daily management decisions that do not adversely impact the valuable resources we are trying to protect while providing enough access to educate and inspire park patrons and natural area stewards of the next generation. The future of our wild places hangs upon the balance between care and consumption, an awareness of the impact of our actions, and recognition that our walk alone in the woods is a gift we are borrowing from the future. >> —James Allison, Land Stewardship Division Manager, City of Portland Parks and Recreation, Portland, Oregon Forest Park in Portland is one of the biggest urban forests in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Portland Parks and Recreation SMA ROUNDTABLE: Managing Natural Areas in the Urban Forest

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