Recreation and Parks
By Tyler Roemer
Land Trusts help Oregonians to
get outside.
It’s easements in Forest Park—flanking downtown Portland, or trails at The Nature Conservancy’s Cascade Head, a bluff overlooking the ocean and home to the Oregon silverspot butterfly—a threatened species.
Land Trusts help create parks, preserves and opportunities for Oregonians to get outside. Together, Oregon land trusts own over 90,0000 acres that are open for public enjoyment—a size comparable to Oregon’s state park system. Friends of the Gorge Land Trust is working on a vision to create a 200-mile trail system wrapping around the Columbia Gorge, connecting small towns, farms, wineries and wild areas together. Greenbelt Land Trust is helping Benton County expand and connect public trail systems that drive community health.
COLT supports expanding recreation lands and resources to connect more people to the outdoors for peace, health and science education. Deschutes Land Trust, for instance, is a leader in developing community-based recreation that also supports the delicate high-desert ecosystem. They partnered with the Deschutes National Forest and others to host a conversation about creating sustainable trails.
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Why conserve land?
Policy Advocacy at Work
Photo Credit: Justin Bailie
Oregon recently opened the Office of Outdoor Recreation, providing a dedicated resource to help communities develop outdoor recreation in Oregon that support local economies, human health and ecosystems.
Members at Work
Photo Credit: Tyler Roemer
In 2013, the Western Rivers Conservancy helped create Oregon’s newest (and, at 7,735 acres, our second largest) State Park, Cottonwood Canyon in Sherman and Gilliam counties.
The Trust for Public Land worked with Springfield’s parks agency, Willamalane, to purchase and create the city’s Thurston Hills Natural Area, including a working community forest.
Photo Credit: Isaac Lane Koval
