Caveat: The content of this post is strictly personal and (except where directly quoted) does not necessarily reflect the views of THPRD and/or the Natural Resources Committee. Neither is this an official communication by, from, or for the Committee or the District.
It takes many organizations to manage the daily affairs of a modern watershed like the Tualatin Basin, dozens in fact. For some the daily management activities involved are their reason d’etre. Clean Water Services (CWS) and Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) immediately come to mind. But other organizations play key roles in that daily management process even when their actual missions are focused on the social services side of the watershed equation. A case in point is the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD). Here’s their mission statement:
The mission of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District is to provide high-quality park and recreation facilities, programs, services and natural areas that meet the needs of the diverse communities it serves.
While nothing in this very clear and to-the-point mission statement says anything about assuming a fair share of the responsibility for water quantity and quality in their jurisdictional area. But a clearer view of THPRD’s mission and its functional relationship to the general health of the watershed can be gained from their focus on sustainability. An even better view of that relationship can be gained from careful scrutiny of how the organization actually manages its considerable inventory of property. These properties run the gamut from the very small to the very large, and social/environmental services provided at each one are equally diverse. Many of the properties “fit” the stereotypical image that comes to mind when you hear the word “park” and come complete with paved pathways, permanent restrooms, picnic tables, playgrounds and even athletic fields. Most of these “developed” sites have a natural feature or two – a small wooded area or a stream for example – but their primary use is recreational. Other sites are less developed and provide opportunities for hiking, birding and other forms of nature watching. Whether a site is well developed and heavily used or still in the soft-trail stage and less frequented, it almost always is connected to the basin’s physical watershed; usually directly and by virtue of having a small stream running through it. A very small number are almost entirely natural and offer few or even no amenities, including parking. These are not so much preserves as they are reserves and in all likelihood will be developed to one extent or another. The terrain and/or water tables in these areas usually do not provide much in the way of opportunity for the installation of playing fields or even hard trails. But they are ideal venues for loving nature and are among the most prized and admired properties in the organization’s inventory.
THPRD’s multifaceted approach to its mission has appealed to me for a long time. Like a majority of voters in the basin I voted for its last bond measure even when the economic and political environment was generally hostile to both government and the idea of increased tax burdens. In my view nothing says more about the credibility and influence of the organization than its ability to successfully move that bond over such troubled waters. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its critics and its public relations challenges, but for the most part the work the organization does is both respected and valued by the community it serves. I’ve admired the organization for a long time, so when an opportunity to serve on one of its committees came my way I went for it. Happily my candidacy was accepted and I am now a member of the Natural Resources Advisory Committee.
The THPRD Natural Resources Committee, L to R: Rob Coles (president); Bruce Barabarash (THPRD); Cory Samia; Matthew Shepherd; Kristin Atman (THPRD); Mitch Cruzan; me, Eric Lindstrom (Secretary). Not shown, but doing a great job behind the camera was Simon Barbarash. Thanks, Simon!
We are a new group, although several of the members have been active in the district’s affairs for a considerable time. Basically our task is “to provide citizen input and recommendations on the use of natural resources managed and operated by the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District.” Our group operates under the following guidelines:
“To attain the goal of effectively utilizing and managing District resources as public assets, the Natural Resources Advisory Committee will approach each topic/function with a global use view. Actions that are recommended by this Advisory Committee must encompass all natural resource users and all aspects of natural resources use.”
Our work is focused almost exclusively on the communications side of things. We have “no authority to expend district funds, set policy, establish procedure,” etc. From my point of view we are mostly an extension of the organization’s learning parts, particularly right now since most of us are new to our posts. Of course I am an educator, so for me almost anything I get involved in is about education.
Our work is managed/facilitated by Bruce Barabarash who supervises the natural resources of the District. As part of our orientation Bruce took the committee on a tour of properties that more or less represent the District’s holdings. At each stop Bruce gave us a general assessment of the site’s strengths, challenges and opportunities. Since I am the committee’s secretary I decided to document the outing with some photographs representative of where we went and what we saw. It was a relatively short outing – just a few hours- but it as packed with information and at the end I felt we had been given a very good overview of the many challenges and even greater number of opportunities for the District in the future. I’m eagerly looking forward to service on this committee.
