The Friends of Ross Island is, as they describe themselves, a "self-appointed, ad-hoc group." The website, friendsofrossisland.org, is not yet up and running, but they have created a presentation and booklet designed to start the conversation about the conservation of Ross Island.
I didn't catch all their names, but the presentation was led by Mike Houck from the Urban Greenspaces Institute, and Bob Salinger of the Audubon Society and Travis Williams of the Willamette Riverkeepers were there as well, mostly jumping in during the Q and A period. The crowd was mostly people living in the South Waterfront district, but they've been giving the presentation to a lot of different people.
I was surprised to learn how much of Ross Island was used in the construction of Portland. Seeing the images of the shrinking island and learning that the gravel was used for the sidewalks and construction of so much of Portland, the Friends of Ross Island have a pretty compelling idea: Ross Island was used to build the City of Portland, and now it's time for the city to rebuild the island.
Currently the dirt being excavated from the Big Pipe project is being used to partially fill the lagoon. Part of the original lease of Ross Island to Ross Island Sand and Gravel stated they had to restore the island, that agreement was amended at some point to say they only needed to restore 10% of the 1979 agreement, which the Friends of Ross Island support as it allows Ross Island to be wetlands.
I liked that they include the mining activity as part of the history of the island. Rather than pushing for the processing facility to be moved, they acknowledge that it's a part of the island. While Ross Island Sand and Gravel is no longer dredging the island, they are using the facility, and there are no plans of them ever moving it. It struck me as exceptionally practical for the eco-focused Friends of Ross Island to accept a gravel processing facility on what they hope will be a nature preserve.
Even within the pretty small group they have different ideas of how Ross Island should be used, as far as how much people should be allowed to be on the island. Mike Houck mentioned he'd like to see a no-wake or no-motor zone established for the Holgate Channel, which seems like a very reasonable and good idea. Overall the Friends of Ross Island seems more about starting the discussion of as opposed to rallying people to support their vision.
Managing Ross Island will be a series of trying things out, seeing what works, and trying new things. By starting the conversation now and getting people up to speed on the issues then when the process really starts moving things will happen more smoothly and faster. I'm looking forward to learning more about Ross Island as it takes its place as a Portland icon.
