Portland Parks & Recreation recognizes Friends of River View Natural Area as the official Friend and Partner group for RVNA. We will use Facebook and Twitter to announce and remind Friends about stewardship events and other happenings in the Natural Area. Follow us there! [FoRVNA on Facebook]
You can also follow us on Twitter @FoRVNA
The city is planning to conduct more vegetation maintenance work at River View Natural Area on October 2, 3 and 4. They will be working with their regular forest management contractor, R. Franco Restoration, to hand cut tree ivy and treat ground ivy and other weeds with herbicide. This work will take place throughout the entire site, as a continuation of implementing the River View Natural Area Management Plan. Either Marshall Johnson or Bee Sinichko will be on site with the contractor each day.
Submitted by: Marshall Johnson | Natural Resource Ecologist | West Lands Stewardship | Portland Parks & Recreation | Marshall.Johnson @ portlandoregon.gov
Let Marshall know if you have any questions or concerns about the work.
It is well into our annual garlic mustard management season, and City Nature West will have a crew coming through the Natural Area on Monday, May 13h, to do some spot spray treatment, and hand pulling.
City staff Marshall Johnson will be on site with the crew. Signage will be posted at the trailheads and along the roadsides around the work areas. (This action was deferred one week due to rain.)
From Marshall, Natural Resource Ecologist: "We use two different herbicides that are approved for use in natural areas like River View - one is Aquaneat which is a glyphosate product. The other one is Vastlan, which is a triclopyr product."
Read more under 'Invasive Species' on our Issues page: [LINK]
Trail 3 and Trail 6 Closures: Trail 3, in the southeast corner of River View Natural Area, is closed due to a catastrophic trail failure where it crosses Stream 6. The area is extremely unstable. Additionally, a segment of Trail 6 is closed due to an unstable drainage crossing.
See the map in context context on this web page [LINK]
Lewis & Clark College student Phoebe Brown has created an ArcGIS StoryMap subtitled "Situating Ethnobotany and Landscape Management".
You can scroll down through and click on different dots for info on plants [LINK]
We may suggest that Phoebe change ‘Riverview’ to 'River View'.
It's too late to think about fire mitigation efforts when smoke starts swirling and embers begin to burn!
This article was taken from Portland's Firewise Communities Assessment Program page: [LINK]
The Firewise Communities/USA program is designed to provide an effective management approach for preserving wildland living aesthetics. ...The Firewise Communities/USA program is designed to enable communities to achieve a high level of protection against Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fire loss even as a sustainable ecosystem balance is maintained.... The program can be tailored for adoption by any community and/or neighborhood that is committed to ensuring its citizens maximum protection from wildland fire.
Community members and environmental specialists work collaboratively to assess the community and gather data.
The good news is that by addressing community vulnerabilities, residents will be able to substantially reduce their exposure to loss. Relatively small investments of time and effort will reap great rewards in wildfire safety.
Linton, the Forest Park Neighborhoods and individual homeowners in Riverdale have already had Firewise assessments. Collins View, with its treasured greenspaces like Riverview Natural Area and Tryon Creek State Park, and our contiguous tree canopy, needs to be proactive in protecting them and our residences in the upcoming — what promises to be a "grim" — fire season.
Please visit the Firewise Program page in the LINK above to view videos and other info.
Respond to us via FriendsOfRiverViewNaturalArea@gmail.com if you are interested in a community/wildland Fire assessment of your Collins View property or business. Friends of RVNA (FoRVNA) will take the point in getting an assessment by Portland Fire and Rescue scheduled.
Collins View is now officially a recognized Firewise Community. See here: [LINK]
FoRVNA and joiners helped Parks remove Irish Ivy at a Stewardship Event on a weekday, March 30, 2022!
Yes, you read that correctly, Irish, not English Ivy. There is a difference! See our Stewardship page: [LINK]
River View Natural Area is a 146-acre undeveloped forested parcel on Collins View's eastern boundary between River View Cemetery and Lewis & Clark College. The site, an important link in the Westside Wildlife Corridor, is connected to the Willamette River through culverts under Highway 43. It is contiguous with Powers Marine Park [LINK] which features large wood installations providing refuge for endangered Chinook, coho salmon and steelhead trout. RVNA is in the key position in the Wildlife Corridor for discharging critical aquatic resources to the Willamette River.
See RVNA History for the history of this area.
With the last couple of dry winters and last summer’s triple degree temperatures and drought, our concern for wildfires in RVNA are at an all-time high. Vernal pools — a seasonal, “ephemeral” or temporary type of wetland habitat that’s formed by the accumulation of winter rains and snowfall, typically in shallow depressions in woodlands — have either disappeared or have been diminished by recent dry years. But maybe, with La Nina promising rain this year, they will be back.
Animals that depend upon vernal pools for reproduction and development of their young are called vernal pool indicator (or obligate) species. The Giant Pacific Coast Salamander is one of these and is also one of our residents. [ODFW LINK] Salamander eggs are in gelatinous blobs attached to plant stems just below the water’s surface.
Because they are very sensitive to changes in water quality, vernal pool denizens are important indicators of environmental health. RVNA waters are at risk because of the surrounding urban density with its fertilizers, chemicals, and street runoff. WARNING! The Giant Sal is one of the few carriers of a parasite that causes “Salmon Poisoning” or “Salmon Disease” which can infect and possibly kill your furry friends. This is another good reason that RVNA has a “No Dogs Allowed” Policy.
Friends of River View Natural Area is the recognized RVNA stewardship partner with Portland Parks. FoRVNA is also listed as a partner on the West Willamette Restoration Partnership (WWRP, Westside Wildlife Corridor) website. [WWRP LINK]
FoRVNA is in the process of lining up RVNA science and nature activities, such as bird walks, vegetation ID (identify the good plants and the bad guys), walks and hopefully educational Zoom meetings with environmental experts to lighten up the dark days of winter. Please respond to FoRVNA via Friends Of River View Natural Area @ gmail.com with suggestions.
There were no Stewardship Events during the pandemic. Here are our past Stewardship Events. Please follow on @FoRVNA on Facebook if you can, for best notifications in the future.
We held the fist River View volunteer event since 2017 on Wednesday, March 30, 2022! The event focused on Ivy Removal.
Click on NEWS above to see our previous news releases.
Describes features of RVNA, has a map of the management plan, and various other MAPS.
A Timeline from 1882 to the present.
Some Q&A about RVNA.
Learn why we are committed to doing the right thing for RVNA.
Where we focus on the events we promote as the official stewardship partner with City Nature West (Portland Parks & Recreation).
We have a number of issues to deal with in RVNA. Park Rangers can't do it all.
Hiking rules and suggestions. We provide a reference map of the existing network of trails. After RVNA plan (trails and interpretive areas) this section can become Explore RVNA.
Flora, Fauna, insects, ... (Page content needs development. Volunteer?)
Several researchers are conducting studies in RVNA.. (Page ontent needs development... Volunteer?)
A new Hotspot has been created in eBird for the River View Natural Area...
As per the Adopted RVNA management plan, dogs are Not allowed in the Natural Area, on leash or off.
A trip into RVNA can raise awareness that our yards were like the natural area at one time. How can we care for Our Yards as an extension of that nature?
'Confluences is a working list of NGO Groups that support watersheds and wildlife.
FoRVNA joined The Intertwine June, 2015.
FoRVNA joined
West Willamette Restoration Partnership Network December 2021.
Authoritative documents and links to additional references.