The natural areas most affected by homeless encampments are wetlands, forests and floodplains in east Portland. Here’s a look at what’s happening:
Where: In Columbia Slough watershed, near Northeast 174th Avenue and Airport Way
What’s there: The 165 acres of wetland meadows, cottonwood forests and white oak habitat are prime habitat for deer, coyotes, river otters, birds and amphibians. The city bought much of the property in 2015 for nearly $500,000, then spent thousands more to restore it.
Status: The site has attracted homeless campers for years, but after the pandemic it became a hub for disassembling stolen cars for parts and other criminal activity. Last fall, the city’s Impact Reduction Program removed a massive encampment, hauling out hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash and towing more than 140 vehicles from the site. The campers had cut down many trees, destroyed the undergrowth and damaged the soil. Bob Sallinger, the former executive director of Portland Audubon who visited the site during the cleanup, described it as “a derelict car lot” and said “the amount of hazardous materials and drug paraphernalia was astounding. It was literally carpeted with needles. I don’t know how they will ever make that place safe again. I certainly wouldn’t bring my kids there.”
READ: Why aren’t dumpsters and toilets a standard to help people living outdoors in Portland?
Campers at the Brookside Wetland trampled vegetation, damaged trees and left behind large swaths of denuded soil.Bureau of Environmental Services
Where: In the Johnson Creek watershed along Southeast Foster Road near the intersection with 110th Avenue
What’s there: The 14-acre site, formerly a dairy farm, was the city Bureau of Environmental Services’ first major flood mitigation project along Johnson Creek. The bureau spent $3.4 million creating an overflow pond and swales and planting 30,000 native plants to reduce flooding on Foster Road and create wildlife habitat. The site is home to steelhead and cutthroat trout, blue herons, ducks, owls, coyotes, deer, turtles and beavers. It includes a small park and wildlife-viewing platform and is used regularly by schools.
Status: Dozens of people in tents, RVs and makeshift structures camped throughout the site and at the curb, leaving denuded soil, damaged trees and undergrowth and trash. Vehicles regularly drove onto the site, scarring it with deep rutted tracks. At the end of March, cleaning crews removed the campers and vehicles and dropped boulders to block car access. The bureau plans to upgrade the overflow pond and do additional restoration, but it’s unclear if the work can start next year.
FOSTER FLOODPLAIN NATURAL AREA
Where: In the Johnson Creek watershed off Foster Road between Southeast 104th and 111th avenues, near the Springwater Corridor Trail
What’s there: The 63 acres of restored wetlands are the product of 15 years and $20 million in buying and demolishing residential properties and renewing the natural floodplain to reduce flooding along Foster Road. Site design and construction cost another $10.3 million. The work included planting 20,500 native trees and 70,500 native shrubs, creating two backwater channels for threatened coho and chinook salmon and steelhead trout and two ponds for sensitive red-legged frogs and Northwestern salamanders. The site has a paved trail and interpretive kiosks.
Status: Dozens of people camped at the property, but vehicles driving onto it were limited. In April, city contract workers removed the encampments and cleaned the area.
Shopping carts and other debris rest in Johnson Creek on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at the West Lents Floodplain in outer Southeast Portland. More than 50 people have camped in the floodplain over the past two years. Dave Killen / The Oregonian
Where: In the Johnson Creek watershed, at the intersection of Southeast Lambert Street and the Springwater Corridor Trail, between Southeast 82nd and 92nd avenues.
What’s there: The 16 acres in the Johnson Creek floodplain encompass several large meadows and wooded areas, home to deer, geese, ducks and skunks. A trail crisscrosses the site. The city didn’t provide the cost of purchasing and restoring the site.
Status: Last year, about 50 people camped throughout the property. In November, city cleanup crews removed the campers and make-shift structures and towed scores of vehicles. More campers were removed this year, but they continue to return. The city is working to secure the site because next year, land managers hope to launch a new restoration project there for more flood water storage. Workers also will remove invasive species and plant native plants.
Where: On Southeast 111th Avenue between Foster Road and Harold Street
What’s there: A 20-acre wetland provides habitat for wildlife and migrating birds. The city invested more than $100,000 to restore the wetland in the 1990s. Over the years, volunteers planted more native trees and shrubs. The site includes a gravel pathway, wooden foot bridge and two viewpoints.
Status: Multiple encampments left trampled vegetation, damaged trees and bald swaths of soil. The camps were removed last fall, but some have since returned. Trash continues to mar the wetland.
OAKS CROSSING NATURAL AREA and the OAKS BOTTOM WILDLIFE REFUGE
Broken trees, trampled vegetation, mounds of trash and hypodermic needles baked into compacted soil remain at the Oaks Crossing Natural Area after multiple encampments were removed from the site this spring. City restoration crews cannot begin restoration efforts until the debris is removed.
Where: Both sites are next to Sellwood Riverfront Park, just north of the Sellwood Bridge
What’s There: Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge encompasses 163 acres of meadows, woodlands and wetlands on the east bank of the Willamette River. Oaks Crossing is a 4.5- acre floodplain of woodlands and seasonal wetlands acting as a buffer between Sellwood Riverfront Park and Oaks Amusement Park. A variety of amphibian species, birds and wildlife inhabit the sites. Both are home to red-legged frogs, a species of concern.
Status: People in tents and structures at both sites and people in RVs alongside Southeast Oak Park Way trampled the vegetation, cut down and damaged trees, created bald areas of compacted soil and spread garbage, human waste and syringes. City contractors removed several dozen camps from the wetlands, meadows, forests and trails. Monitoring by city ecologists shows the population of red-legged frogs has decreased at the sites in recent years from human impact.
Where: Just south of Portland International Airport and north of Cully Park in Northeast Portland
What’s there: The 85-acre property along the Columbia and Whittaker sloughs was at imminent risk of development, prompting the city of Portland and the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District to buy it in 2014 for $5 million. Half of the site is a golf course while the other half is being restored as a natural area.
Status: Several encampments were removed at the site last year as well as earlier this summer.
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Other impacted sites include: The Cross Levee property and numerous other sites on the Columbia Slough in North and Northeast Portland; miles of riverbank along the east side of the Willamette River; other sites along Johnson Creek; and multiple sites off the Springwater Corridor Trail.
Alonzo Hawkins helps clean trash from an area near the Columbia Slough on June 15, 2023 as part of a regular cleanup event organized by SOLVE, a nonprofit best known for cleaning Oregon beaches. Hawkins is a members of Dignity Village, a self-governed tiny home community, and he gets paid a small stipend for participating in the cleanup event. Dave Killen / The Oregonian
Sources: Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Parks & Recreation, Impact Reduction Program
– Gosia Wozniacka; gwozniacka@oregonian.com; @gosiawozniacka
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