A well-treed urban landscape is not only beneficial for wildlife, it also provides a diverse set of co-benefits that are important for the human communities to thrive in an urban environment. For these reasons, trees have served as a pillar of Bird Alliance of Oregon’s urban conservation policy advocacy.
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Although it lasted only 35 days, the 2022 Legislative Short Session resulted in some remarkable gains for conservation in Oregon. Bird Alliance of Oregon’s top two legislative priorities—advancing new stream protections under the Oregon Forest Practices Act and creating a new Elliott State Research Forest—passed with strong support from both conservation and timber interests and with strong bipartisan support.
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For decades, the 826 acres of wildlife habitat on West Hayden Island has been one of the most conflicted and contested parcels in the Portland metropolitan region. However, an unprecedented opportunity now lies before us to permanently protect one of the largest and most ecologically valuable unprotected natural areas in the region.
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There are a number of ways we can each contribute to helping safeguard birds on their journeys but one of the easiest things we can do is turn off unnecessary overnight lighting—especially during peak migration—to reduce the fog of skyglow that clouds the skies over our cities and towns, drowning out the stars and luring birds into lit areas.
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The early arrival of mason bees is important for local ecosystems and backyards because mason bees are extraordinary pollinators. In fact, one mason bee can pollinate as many flowers as nearly one hundred honeybees!
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Spring is at our doorstep and birds are starting to sing—time to get involved in our community science projects! Bird Alliance of Oregon’s Community Science program spans the state, from the iconic coast to the high desert of eastern Oregon as well as the Portland Metro region.
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Greening Wilkes is a collaborative project that engages the community surrounding Wilkes City Park and Wilkes Creek Headwaters in outer East Portland in revitalizing and expanding green infrastructure to improve wildlife habitat throughout the neighborhood.
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Where Portland once boasted some of the most innovative and aggressive environmental programs in the country, that edge has largely evaporated. As large amounts of infrastructure money flows into Portland, the City is simply not prepared to enact the sort of bold environmental initiatives it excelled at in the past.
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Here in Portland, numerous lectures, events, and field excursions will focus on the works of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (FLO) and his son John Charles Olmsted (JCO), who carried forward the landscape philosophy established by his stepfather, including the public spaces of multiple cities in the Pacific Northwest.
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On January 2, 2022, Bird Alliance of Oregon held our 96th annual (and second “COVID-safe”) Christmas Bird Count. Because of ongoing risks associated with COVID-19, field teams were once again reduced in size, but a hardy group of 215 field observers and 115 feeder watchers managed to tally a respectable 123 species, right smack in the middle of the 10-year average for the Portland count.
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