The Portland parks bureau's head honchos have responded to the recent focus on the city's Forest Park with new initiatives to protect the place while trying to accommodate everyone who wants to use it for their own purposes. One of the steps is going to be the hiring of a full-time park ranger for that long stretch of greenspace.
Paying for the new programs isn't quite settled yet, however, and City Commissioner Nick Fish says he'll look for "a dedicated source of regional" funding -- I guess that means a new tax to be levied by Metro -- as well as the dreaded "public-private partnership" stuff.
Comments (9)
The deterioration of Forest Park has been swept under the rug for years because Parks Bureau leadership thought it made them look bad. Forget yesterday's grandstanding. One of the region's natural gems is in trouble because Zari & Co. were only concerned about their own skins. What a disgrace.
Save Forest Park by charging those that use it. Mt. Bikers in particular should pay to maintain the trails that they routinely destroy. Most people wouldn't mind paying a few bucks to hike there.
What? there is no park ranger now? Ban the mountain bikes. Forest Park is remarkable. It should be maintained, managed and protected. Management should include continued efforts to eliminate exotic species (ivy and blackberries). Not the wild Oregon blackberries of course, but I doubt there are many if any present. Management does not mean benign neglect however. Positive steps must be taken to control insect and disease infestations. This will require some thinning and selective cutting at times. If the mountain bikers need a place to play how about having the PDC and Delvelopment clique build a fun park for them at PGE park after MLS folds its tent? I could just go on and on...
Dean,
I could go on and on too, I think a lot of us could, this is just getting weary dealing with this dysfunctional council.
Frank:Most people wouldn't mind paying a few bucks to hike there.
Some people would and it would stop them from using their park. Eventually only those who can pay could partake in nature, the trend is there already. Taking more and more in this way and that way from the people is the end result now that millions have been given for the pet projects, and that is another reason I object to making citizens pay more and now to hike in their park. It is making the citizens then bail out for the bad decisions as the city prefers to spend wildly rather than take care of basics. Citizens already pay taxes that should take care of basics.
everytime gov trys to charge us to use something we own , the fee collection activity costs more than the collection , then they raise the fee to cover the diff , then they hire more upper mngmt to oversee it , and have to raise the fee again to cover that.... sure hpoe mr ranger keeps an eye on Yogi and BOO BOO
I just returned from a camping trip to a State Park on the coast. I paid a nominal amount to camp there - and was glad to have the use of this remarkable publicly-owned facility. What's wrong with asking users to pay? A couple of bucks to hike in Forest Park is not too much to ask. Let kids hike for free.
A fee to hike in Forest Park? Try to enforce it. There are too many ways to enter the park and the Wildwood Trail alone stretches for miles. One ranger couldn't begin to police it.
When I lived on Skyline Blvd north of Germantown Road. I occasionally saw city employees in the Newton Road parking lots, ticketing people for off leash dogs.
On another single memorable occasion I ran into a city employee setting out and checking moth traps. He told me that he was the only person undertaking this task in the 40-mile-loop.
Re. mountain bikes, there are already several fire lanes that provide a tough and challenging place to ride, not to mention Saltzman and other gated areas. Hamilton Mountain (WA) and nearby areas are a short drive from Portland. IMO there's no need to create mountain biking paths in Forest Park.
An example is Willamette Park which was Portland Parks first park to charge for parking. The cost of the ticket booth, employees, and means to avoid paying by parking in the neighborhood seldom generated any revenue beyond the cost to manage the parking. The "profits" were to go to the park directly, but even when there was a "profit" it went to the Parks Bureau general fund.
When's the last time anyone has seen a new picnic table there, or any work to prevent the rain water build up over the unimproved 30 year old rutted asphalt walks? And of course, when Parks asked us to support another Parks Bond, they stopped garbage service there to cry poor.
Fees don't mean improvements in Portland. They just mean more jobs for the government elite.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 21
At this date last year: 52
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (9)
The deterioration of Forest Park has been swept under the rug for years because Parks Bureau leadership thought it made them look bad. Forget yesterday's grandstanding. One of the region's natural gems is in trouble because Zari & Co. were only concerned about their own skins. What a disgrace.
Posted by RJBob | June 18, 2010 10:18 AM
Save Forest Park by charging those that use it. Mt. Bikers in particular should pay to maintain the trails that they routinely destroy. Most people wouldn't mind paying a few bucks to hike there.
Posted by Frank | June 18, 2010 11:26 AM
HOW ABOUT USING THE BUDGET RESPONSIBLY, THEN CHARGE.
Posted by Erika G. | June 18, 2010 12:09 PM
What? there is no park ranger now? Ban the mountain bikes. Forest Park is remarkable. It should be maintained, managed and protected. Management should include continued efforts to eliminate exotic species (ivy and blackberries). Not the wild Oregon blackberries of course, but I doubt there are many if any present. Management does not mean benign neglect however. Positive steps must be taken to control insect and disease infestations. This will require some thinning and selective cutting at times. If the mountain bikers need a place to play how about having the PDC and Delvelopment clique build a fun park for them at PGE park after MLS folds its tent? I could just go on and on...
Posted by Dean | June 18, 2010 12:33 PM
Dean,
I could go on and on too, I think a lot of us could, this is just getting weary dealing with this dysfunctional council.
Frank:Most people wouldn't mind paying a few bucks to hike there.
Some people would and it would stop them from using their park. Eventually only those who can pay could partake in nature, the trend is there already. Taking more and more in this way and that way from the people is the end result now that millions have been given for the pet projects, and that is another reason I object to making citizens pay more and now to hike in their park. It is making the citizens then bail out for the bad decisions as the city prefers to spend wildly rather than take care of basics. Citizens already pay taxes that should take care of basics.
Posted by clinamen | June 18, 2010 2:04 PM
everytime gov trys to charge us to use something we own , the fee collection activity costs more than the collection , then they raise the fee to cover the diff , then they hire more upper mngmt to oversee it , and have to raise the fee again to cover that.... sure hpoe mr ranger keeps an eye on Yogi and BOO BOO
Posted by billb | June 18, 2010 2:26 PM
I just returned from a camping trip to a State Park on the coast. I paid a nominal amount to camp there - and was glad to have the use of this remarkable publicly-owned facility. What's wrong with asking users to pay? A couple of bucks to hike in Forest Park is not too much to ask. Let kids hike for free.
Posted by Frank | June 18, 2010 3:16 PM
A fee to hike in Forest Park? Try to enforce it. There are too many ways to enter the park and the Wildwood Trail alone stretches for miles. One ranger couldn't begin to police it.
When I lived on Skyline Blvd north of Germantown Road. I occasionally saw city employees in the Newton Road parking lots, ticketing people for off leash dogs.
On another single memorable occasion I ran into a city employee setting out and checking moth traps. He told me that he was the only person undertaking this task in the 40-mile-loop.
Re. mountain bikes, there are already several fire lanes that provide a tough and challenging place to ride, not to mention Saltzman and other gated areas. Hamilton Mountain (WA) and nearby areas are a short drive from Portland. IMO there's no need to create mountain biking paths in Forest Park.
Posted by NW Portlander | June 18, 2010 3:47 PM
billb has it right.
An example is Willamette Park which was Portland Parks first park to charge for parking. The cost of the ticket booth, employees, and means to avoid paying by parking in the neighborhood seldom generated any revenue beyond the cost to manage the parking. The "profits" were to go to the park directly, but even when there was a "profit" it went to the Parks Bureau general fund.
When's the last time anyone has seen a new picnic table there, or any work to prevent the rain water build up over the unimproved 30 year old rutted asphalt walks? And of course, when Parks asked us to support another Parks Bond, they stopped garbage service there to cry poor.
Fees don't mean improvements in Portland. They just mean more jobs for the government elite.
Posted by lw | June 18, 2010 7:16 PM