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Shaped like a tapered rectangle roughly {{convert|8|mi|km}} long, the park is less than {{convert|1|mi|km}} wide near downtown Portland and about {{convert|2|mi|km}} wide at its northwestern end.<ref name="Friends map set"/> It extends along the West Hills from West Burnside Street near downtown Portland to where the Willamette River divides to flow around ].<ref name ="Houck 117"/> Covering most of the east face of the ridge above the Willamette River, it is bounded by West Burnside Street on the south, Northwest Skyline Boulevard on the west, Northwest Newberry Road on the north, and Northwest St. Helens Road (]) on the east.<ref name ="Houck 117"/> Elevations above ] vary from {{convert|50|ft|m}}<ref name = "Thayer 92"/> near U.S. Route 30 at the base of the ridge to about {{convert|1100|ft|m}}<ref name ="Houle xiv"/> near the crest of the ridge along Northwest Skyline Boulevard. Shaped like a tapered rectangle roughly {{convert|8|mi|km}} long, the park is less than {{convert|1|mi|km}} wide near downtown Portland and about {{convert|2|mi|km}} wide at its northwestern end.<ref name="Friends map set"/> It extends along the West Hills from West Burnside Street near downtown Portland to where the Willamette River divides to flow around ].<ref name ="Houck 117"/> Covering most of the east face of the ridge above the Willamette River, it is bounded by West Burnside Street on the south, Northwest Skyline Boulevard on the west, Northwest Newberry Road on the north, and Northwest St. Helens Road (]) on the east.<ref name ="Houck 117"/> Elevations above ] vary from {{convert|50|ft|m}}<ref name = "Thayer 92"/> near U.S. Route 30 at the base of the ridge to about {{convert|1100|ft|m}}<ref name ="Houle xiv"/> near the crest of the ridge along Northwest Skyline Boulevard.


Forest Park is among the largest city parks in the United States. In 2007, ] put the park in 19th&nbsp;place, based on a size of {{convert|4317|acre|km2|0}}.<ref name="largest"/> This is about the same as the park's original size but smaller than its 2008 total of about {{convert|5100|acre|km2}}.<ref name="parks"/> Even so, the 15&nbsp;biggest parks on the list all had more than {{convert|5500|acre|km2}}.<ref name ="largest"/> The trust’s list included state parks, national parks, county parks, regional parks, and national wildlife refuges, as well as municipally-owned parks located within cities. ] in ], was in first place with {{convert|495996|acre|km2|0}}.<ref name="largest"/> In 2007, Forest Park ranked 19th in size among the largest city parks in the United States, according to ].<ref name="largest"/> The trust’s list included state parks, national parks, county parks, regional parks, and national wildlife refuges, as well as municipally-owned parks located within cities. ] in ], was in first place with {{convert|495996|acre|km2|0}}.<ref name="largest"/>


==History== ==History==

Revision as of 21:42, 10 February 2009

This article is about the Portland park. For the Portland neighborhood, see Forest Park, Portland, Oregon. For other uses, see Forest Park.

Template:Geobox Protected Area

Forest Park is a municipal and public park in the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills) west of downtown Portland, Oregon. It is the largest urban forest reserve in the United States. The park covers more than 5,100 acres (21 km) of mostly second-growth forest with a few patches of old growth and is threaded by more than 70 miles (110 km) of recreational trails. Forest Park stretches for more than 8 miles (13 km) on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River.

As early as the 1860s, civic leaders sought to create a natural preserve in the woods near Portland. Landslides on the silt-covered slopes induced early settlers to abandon their property or give it to the city, which gradually acquired land for a park. Formally dedicated in 1948, the park ranks 19th in size among parks within U.S. cities, according to The Trust for Public Land.

More than 112 bird species and 62 mammal species live in or visit the park and its wide variety of trees and shade-loving plants. About 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain fall here each year. Many small streams flow northeast through the woods from the crest of the hills to the Willamette River.

Geology and geography

Solidified lava from Grande Ronde members of the Columbia River Basalt Group underlie Forest Park. About 16 million years ago during the Middle Miocene, the Columbia River ran through a lowland south of its modern channel. Eruptions from linear vents in eastern Oregon and Washington flowed down this channel through what later became the Willamette Valley. These flows, some of which reached the Pacific Ocean, recurred at intervals between 16.5 and 15.6 million years ago and covered almost 60,000 square miles (160,000 km). About eight separate Grande Ronde Basalt flows have been mapped in the Tualatin Mountains (West Hills), where they underlie the steepest slopes of Forest Park and form the columned rocks visible along Balch Creek Canyon and Northwest Cornell Road. The West Hills were later covered by wind-deposited silts that become unstable when saturated with water. Stream bank instability and siltation are common, and landslides deter urban development at higher elevations.

Shaped like a tapered rectangle roughly 8 miles (13 km) long, the park is less than 1 mile (1.6 km) wide near downtown Portland and about 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at its northwestern end. It extends along the West Hills from West Burnside Street near downtown Portland to where the Willamette River divides to flow around Sauvie Island. Covering most of the east face of the ridge above the Willamette River, it is bounded by West Burnside Street on the south, Northwest Skyline Boulevard on the west, Northwest Newberry Road on the north, and Northwest St. Helens Road (U.S. Route 30) on the east. Elevations above sea level vary from 50 feet (15 m) near U.S. Route 30 at the base of the ridge to about 1,100 feet (340 m) near the crest of the ridge along Northwest Skyline Boulevard.

In 2007, Forest Park ranked 19th in size among the largest city parks in the United States, according to The Trust for Public Land. The trust’s list included state parks, national parks, county parks, regional parks, and national wildlife refuges, as well as municipally-owned parks located within cities. Chugach State Park in Anchorage, Alaska, was in first place with 495,996 acres (2,007 km).

History

Intersection of Wildwood Trail and Birch Trail

Prior to settlement by European Americans of the West Hills, the land that became known as Forest Park was covered by a Douglas-fir forest. By 1851, its acreage had been divided into donation land claims filed by settlers with plans to clear the forest and build upon the property. After logging, the steep slopes and unstable silt loosened by heavy rains caused landslides that defeated construction plans, and claims were defaulted or donated to the city.

Civic leaders beginning with the Reverend Thomas Lamb Eliot, a minister who moved to Portland in 1867, sought to create a natural preserve in the woods that eventually became Forest Park. By 1899 his efforts led to the formation of the Municipal Park Commission of Portland, which in 1903 hired the highly-regarded Olmsted Brothers to prepare a plan for the park. They recommended that the city acquire West Hills property to develop a wooded public park. Trails in the park and elsewhere in the city were to form a trail system, which later became known as the 40 Mile Loop.

In 1897, a 30-acre (12 ha) tract along Balch Creek Canyon was donated to the city and later became Macleay Park, a part of Forest Park. In the 1890s, Frederick Van Voorhies Holman, a Portland lawyer and a president of the Oregon Historical Society, proposed a gift of 52 acres (21 ha) that was added to the park in 1939 when his siblings, George F. and Mary Holman, completed the donation. After a feasibility study by the City Club of Portland in 1945, civic leaders supported the park project, and 4,200 acres (17 km) of city land were formally dedicated as Forest Park on September 23, 1948. By 2000, it covered more than 5,100 acres (21 km). It is the largest urban forest reserve in the U.S.

Vegetation

Vanilla leaf forms part of the forest understory.

Forest Park lies in the Coast Range ecoregion designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In its natural state, the forest consists mainly of three tree species, Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar, and smaller numbers of grand fir, black cottonwood, red alder, bigleaf maple, madrone, and western yew. Much of the forest that existed here before 1850 was gone by 1940. The stage of re-growth in the forest depends on when it was last logged or burned.

In the mid-1990s, about one percent of the total vegetation in the park consisted of grasses, bracken, thistle, and fireweed in sections of the forest cleared two to five years earlier. Another two percent had reached the shrub stage, between three and thirty years old, with small trees dominated by such plants as thimbleberry, salmonberry, and blackberry. Forest areas 10 to 30 years old that contained tall alder and maple trees and smaller conifers accounted for about 20 percent of the park.

Larger areas were occupied by forests in which conifers had grown taller than the alders and maples. About 50 percent of Forest Park consists of these areas, which are between 30 and 80 years old and in which Douglas-firs have begun to dominate. Another 25 percent of the park contains forests dominated by middle-aged conifers, 80 to 250 years old. In these areas, red alders, which live for about 100 years, have begun to die, and the Douglas-firs, which can live for 750 years, attain heights up to about 240 feet (73 m). Under the big trees are shade-tolerant trees such as western red cedar, western hemlock, and grand fir and smaller plants such as Oregon-grape, vine maple, and salal.

The last forest stage, old growth, is reached after 250 years and includes many snags, downed and dead trees, and fallen logs. Timber-cutting and fires reduced old growth in Forest Park to "almost nothing" by 1940, and most of the forest has not yet attained this stage. Patches exist near Macleay Park and further west near Germantown Road and Newton Road. The largest tree in Forest Park is a Douglas-fir near the Stone House, the remains of a former public restroom near Balch Creek. It is 242 feet (74 m) high, and the trunk is 17.3 feet (5.3 m) in circumference.

Among the prominent wildflowers are wild ginger, Hooker's fairy bells, vanilla leaf, evergreen violet, and trillium. Invasive species include English ivy, European holly, clematis, morning glory, and Himalayan blackberry. Citizen groups such as the No Ivy League and Friends of Forest Park engage in projects to remove ivy, maintain trails, and plant native species.

Wildlife

The Hairy Woodpecker is one of many species of birds living in the park.

Wildlife in Forest Park is strongly affected by contiguous tracts of nearby habitat that make the park accessible to birds and animals from the Tualatin River valley, the Oregon Coast Range, the Willamette River, Sauvie Island, the Columbia River, and the Vancouver, Washington, lowlands. Sixty-two mammal species, including the northern flying squirrel, black-tailed deer, creeping vole, bobcat, coyote, Mazama pocket gopher, little brown bat, Roosevelt elk, and Pacific jumping mouse frequent Forest Park. Blue Grouse, Great Horned Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Bewick's Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler, Osprey, and Hermit Thrush are among the more than 112 species of birds that have been observed in the park. In Balch Creek Canyon adjacent to Forest Park, the Audubon Society of Portland maintains a wildlife sanctuary with more than 4 miles (6.4 km) of trails, a wildlife care center, and avian exhibits. Amphibian species frequenting the Audubon Society pond include rough-skinned newts, Pacific tree frogs, and salamanders.

Pressure from habitat loss, pollution, hunting, and urban development has reduced or eliminated the presence of large predators such as wolves, bears, and wild cats and has led to increased numbers of small predators such as weasels and raccoons. Roads in the area severely hamper the movement of large animals. Invasive plant species such as English ivy have made the habitat more simple and less supportive of native insects and the salamanders and other amphibians that feed on them.

Wildwood Trail

Volunteers at work on Wildwood Trail

More than 70 miles (110 km) of trails and firelanes cut through the park. The longest trail in the park is the Wildwood Trail, of which about 27 miles (43 km) is in Forest Park and about 3 miles (4.8 km) in adjacent Washington Park. It is also the longest section of the 40 Mile Loop, a trail network of roughly 150 miles (240 km) reaching many parts of the Portland metropolitan area. The trail runs southeast to northwest from trail marker 0 in Washington Park to Northwest Newberry Road, just beyond trail marker 30 on the ridge above the southeastern end of Sauvie Island. The straight-line distance from beginning to end is about 9 miles (14 km), but because the trail includes many switchbacks and hairpin turns, it is 30.2 miles (48.6 km) long.

Wildwood Trail begins in Washington Park near the Oregon Zoo, a light rail stop, the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the World Forestry Center and the Hoyt Arboretum. Blue diamonds placed about 6 feet (1.8 m) above the ground appear on trees along the trail every 0.25 miles (0.40 km). The diamonds and the mileage markers above them are visible to hikers traveling in either direction on the path. In its first 5 miles (8.0 km), the trail passes near the Portland Japanese Garden, Pittock Mansion, the Portland Audubon Society wildlife sanctuary, and the Stone House in Balch Creek Canyon. From this point west, Wildwood Trail runs through forest generally uninterrupted by buildings but crisscrossed by shorter trails, small streams, roads, and firelanes.

Other paths, streets, easements

Many shorter Forest Park trails, roads, and firelanes intersect the Wildwood Trail. Most of the trails are open only to hikers and runners, but several roads and firelanes are open to bicycles or horses or both. Leif Erickson Drive, a road closed to motorized traffic, runs at lower elevation than and roughly parallel to the Wildwood Trail for about 11 miles (18 km) from the end of Northwest Thurman Street to Northwest Germantown Road. Easements for an oil line, a gas line, and electric transmission lines for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) cross the park. In addition to the paved roads that surround the park, it is crossed or entered by other roads including Northwest Pittock Drive, Northwest Cornell Road, Northwest 53rd Drive, Northwest Saltzman Road, Northwest Springville Road, Northwest Germantown Road, Northwest Newton Road, and BPA Road.

Creeks

Waterfall on Balch Creek near the eastern edge of the park

About 40 inches (1,000 mm) of rain falls on Forest Park each year. Many small creeks, only a few of which are named, flow northeast through the park from the ridge at the top of the West Hills to the base of the hills near U.S. Route 30. The five named streams from east to west are Balch Creek, Rocking Chair Creek, Saltzman Creek, Doane Creek, and Miller Creek. Rocking Chair Creek is a tributary of Saltzman Creek. After leaving the park, the streams pass through culverts and other conduits before reaching the Willamette River. Near the east end of the park, the free-flowing reaches of Balch Creek support a population of resident cutthroat trout. Near the west end, furthest from the city center, Miller Creek retains much of its historic nature and supports a greater diversity of aquatic organisms than other Forest Park streams. Biological field surveys of Miller Creek in 1990 noted sea-run cutthroat trout, coho salmon, and short-head cottid, as well as abundant macroinvertebrate species including stoneflies, mayflies, caddisflies, water striders, and crayfish.

References

  1. ^ "Forest Park". Portland Parks and Recreation Department, City of Portland. 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  2. ^ "100 Largest City Parks" (PDF). The Trust for Public Land. 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  3. ^ Bishop, pp. 141–48
  4. Knudsen, Matt. "Balch Creek Watershed: Good Policy, Poor Performance" (pdf). Portland State University. Retrieved June 3, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Hiking and Running Guide to Forest Park (Map) (2003 ed.). Friends of Forest Park. § Index Map, Stone House, City View, Wild-Leif, Heart of the Park, Old Growth, Avenue of Trees, Maple, Big Stump, Hole in the Park. ISBN none. {{cite map}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  6. ^ Houck, p. 117
  7. Cite error: The named reference Thayer 92 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. Cite error: The named reference Houle xiv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. Thorson, T.D. (2003). "Ecoregions of Oregon (front side of color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs)" (pdf). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved June 19, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Reverse side here
  10. ^ Houle, pp. 16–23
  11. Portland Parks and Recreation Department. "Heritage Trees". City of Portland. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  12. Houle, p. 18
  13. Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Habitat and Biological Communities". Willamette Subwatersheds: Balch. City of Portland. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  14. "Volunteer Opportunities". Forest Park Conservancy. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  15. ^ Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Wildlife Communities". Willamette Subwatershed: Balch. City of Portland. Retrieved June 13, 2008.
  16. ^ Houle, pp. 36–49
  17. "Trails & Sanctuary". Audubon Society of Portland. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  18. Houck, p. 110
  19. Houck, pp. 117–18
  20. Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Rainfall Summary Table". City of Portland. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
  21. Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Balch: Fish Communities". City of Portland. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
  22. Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Miller: Aquatic Habitat". City of Portland. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
  23. Bureau of Environmental Services (2008). "Miller: Fish Communities". City of Portland. Retrieved December 26, 2008.

Works cited

  • Bishop, Ellen Morris (2003). In Search of Ancient Oregon: A Geological and Natural History. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-789-4.
  • Houck, Michael C., and Cody, M.J. (2000). Wild in the City: A Guide to Portland's Natural Areas. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-273-9.
  • Houle, Marcy Cottrell (1996). One City's Wilderness: Portland's Forest Park, second edition. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-284-4.
  • Thayer, James D. (2008). Portland Forest Hikes: Twenty Close-In Wilderness Walks. Portland: Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-857-0.

External links

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