Issues

Urban & Rural Reserves - Making the Greatest Place

On Monday, February 8th, a group of local elected officials called the "Core 4" will make a recommendation on rural and urban reserves for the greater Portland metropolitan area. The reserves decision will guide where the region will grow for the next 50 years.

A coalition of conservation organizations and farming & agriculture groups have joined together to promote an urban and rural reserves map that provides protection for farmland and natural resources while providing critical areas for the region to grow sustainably.

Please contact the Core 4 officials and let them know that you support the Conservation and agricuture groups map. Ask them to take a stand to protect Cooper Mountain, Waibel Creek, Chicken Creek, the Tonquin Geologic Area, the Dairy-McKay-Council Creek Confluences, and the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge.

Click here to see the agriculture and natural resources coalition map. Please note that the letter C on the map denotes the need for conditions to be placed upon reserves designations to protect natural resources and/or agriculture lands. Here is a comparison of the different map proposals.

Below is the growing list of organizations who have endorsed the map (updated January 27th). Contact Tara Sulzen, Field Organizer, to add your group or organization to the list in support of the alternative map.

Organizations

Washington County Farm Bureau

Tualatin Riverkeepers

Friends of French Prairie

1000 Friends of Oregon

Save Helvetia

Audubon Society of Portland

Coalition for a Livable Future

Oregon Association of Nurseries

Slow Food

Portland Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition

Urban Greenspaces Institute

Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited

Oregon Environmental Council

Friends of Family Farmers

Oregon Tilth

Scotch Church Road Families and Farms

Forest Park Conservancy

Forest Park Neighborhood Association (West Hills only)

Portland Farmers Market

East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District

Friends of Council Creek

Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas County Chapters of Oregon League of Conservation Voters

Individuals and elected officials

Portland Mayor Sam Adams

Amanda Fritz, City of Portland Commissioner

Victoria Lowe, Forest Grove City Council
 

January 11 Press Conference footage

Background on Urban and Rural Reserves: Saving Farmland & Building Livable Communities 

Oregon is blessed with some of the world's best farmland. Agriculture in Oregon provides tens of thousands of jobs and healthy, locally grown food for farmers markets, restaurants and grocery stores. Oregon agricultural products are also exported around the world, making agriculture a critical element of the state's economy.

Managing urban growth makes our cities and towns more livable, reduces air and water pollution, increases our transportation options and helps prevent sprawl from gobbling up valuable farms, forests and natural areas. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by keeping our "carbon footprint" smaller.

Rural & Urban Reserves: Better Planning for a Better Future

The population of the Portland metropolitan region is expected to grow by one million people by the year 2030. Our region faces a tremendous challenge - how to provide future housing, jobs, schools, parks and other amenities and still maintain our cherished quality of life.

The 2007 Legislature gave the Portland region a valuable new tool to shape our future: the ability to designate urban and rural reserves. Metro and the counties of Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington will jointly designate which land will be protected and which land will be developed over the next 40-50 years.

Urban and rural reserves could improve the existing process of urban growth boundary expansion by providing greater predictability for farmers, landowners and communities as to where future growth will occur - but only if we all participate in the decision-making.

We have a unique and important opportunity to shape the future of our region for generations. If done correctly, the decisions on urban and rural reserves will:

• Protect our most valuable farm land from future development;
• Ensure that future growth will create vibrant communities and greater opportunities to walk, bike, and take transit for our transportation needs;
• Help the region reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming pollution.

Sign-up for our email updates by emailing reserves@friends.org. Click here to read our most recent Reserves Update.

Contact the Reserves Steering Committee Core Four:

Important Links:

Metro's Reserves web site

Clackamas County's reserves web site

Multnomah County's reserves web site

Washington County's reserves web site