Ross Island Project

One can almost imagine a Chinook canoe traveling upriver, against the Willamette’s current over 200 years ago. This canoe may well have sliced between two islands towering with old cottonwoods, with deer peering out from behind the leaves. Perhaps what was the Ross Island “Archipelago” (Ross Island, Hardtack Island, and East Island) was used as a resting point by the Chinook.

Today the Ross Island complex is vastly changed. The two large islands, Ross and Hardtack, were joined together in the 1930’s by a berm, today the low point on the southwest side of the lagoon, created a relatively protected area from which a vast volume of rock has been mined over the decades. Much of this rock went to create the cement that helped to build the City of Portland.

Over the decades the extraction of gravel has removed much of what were once two large islands. In addition to the gravel being mined into the island, it was also mined downward into the river’s depths. Today a vast lagoon has been created, with depths up to 120 feet deep. Ross Island (on the west, north, and southwest side of the lagoon) is a thin shell of its former shape – really the outline of the island’s western side. There are a couple of areas where the island is wide, hosting native bird and mammal species. Hardtack Island to the east has been greatly reduced in size as well, and today hosts the large processing facility for Ross Island Sand and Gravel.

The Opportunity

In 2003 Ross Island Sand and Gravel indicated to the City of Portland that they would be willing to “give” what is left of the island to the City, once their extraction operations ceased. At the conclusion of their final permit to remove gravel from the river environment, a permit provided by the Oregon Department of State Lands, the company is required to mitigate for their impact to the river with a restoration project.

Ross Island developed a restoration plan with an Advisory Group in 2004 to improve over an earlier plan. The current restoration plan requires the company to conduct significant restoration throughout the island. The majority of the restoration provides a combination of tidal habitat, wetland habitat, and upland habitat on the north, and south ends of the Lagoon with native species being used. The island’s western fringe will also be widened in areas. To create this new habitat, a tremendous amount of “clean” sediment must be brought into the lagoon to build up the base of the island to support the additional acreage. Willamette Riverkeeper provided significant advocacy from 2000 to 2004 to ensure that the sediment that would rebuild the island would only come from clean sources. Today, the restoration plan requires “Class A” fill as defined by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The restored habitat will provide areas suitable for salmon resting and rearing, as well as habitat suitable for a range of shore birds and other wildlife. The additional effort in this area meshes well with Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, just across the back channel from the Ross Archipelago. The connection of these sites, with a restored island complex and an existing refuge will provide key benefits for urban wildlife.

While a good amount of restoration work will occur, the processing facility on Hardtack Island will remain. The restoration work on the island will continue through 2010, given the amount of clean material that must be brought in.

An Important Wrinkle - DEQ Disposal Issue

A complication for this process comes with the disposal of contaminated dredged material from the Port of Portland in the early 1990s. This was an approved action at the time, meeting some of the company’s needs to fill the hole that they had dug. Unfortunately, after the dirty sediment was buried, some of this material was accidentally opened up from where it was buried on the lagoon bottom, and spread to some degree in the lagoon.

Over the past five years Ross Island Sand and Gravel has, as required by the DEQ, studied the issue to examine the spread of the material. As of now, the company is close to finalizing the issue which will require multiple decades of monitoring to be sure there is no long term impact to the lagoon. This remains a key issue that is slowing the transfer of the island to the City of Portland – the liability of the contaminated sediment and related long term monitoring.

DEQ Link http://www.deq.state.or.us/nwr/Ross_Island/index.htm

Current Situation

Today there is an opportunity to finalize the deal between the City of Portland and Ross Island Sand and Gravel. Because this is a unique opportunity, Willamette Riverkeeper believes we must get this job done as soon as possible.

In the coming months in 2006 WRK will work with other partners, such as the Urban Greenspaces Institute, and Portland Audubon, to advocate for the transfer of the island to the City of Portland. It seems that the time is right, and significant public interest is growing.

The Future of Ross Island

WRK believes that some version of the following must occur:

1. Transfer Ross Island and East Island to the City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department.
2. Along with the transfer, Ross Island should provide an endowment to the City of Portland to enable monitoring and maintenance when Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. no longer have liability for the contaminated material.
3. Provide a significant area for wildlife with limited public access (human powered craft or hiking).
4. Develop a no wake zone for those areas of the lagoon where motorized craft are allowed.
5. Develop a no wake zone for Holgate Channel.
6. Work with the public, Parks, and others to determine the appropriate level of terrestrial access to the Island.
7. Develop educational signs and materials for visitors and school groups.

The Ross Island Archipelago has the potential to be a significant wildlife resource, and a public recreation resource. Stay tuned in the months ahead for opportunities to weigh in with the City of Portland and others. Hearing from the public in this process will be important to our policy makers as they work on this issue.

To get involved in this effort, contact Willamette Riverkeeper at 503-223-6418 for more information or sign up for our email action alert.

Paddlers explore the northern tip of Ross Island