Making Sense of What We Have…

Existing Conditions Inventories and Guiding Values for Oregon State Park Planning in the Gorge.

We want to thank everyone who participated in the public meetings last week. If you were unable to attend, we encourage you to review our meeting notes below and then email, call or write in.

At last week’s public meetings in the Gorge the OPRD Planning team presented existing condition inventories and shared draft values of our Oregon State Parks in the Columbia River Gorge that will guide the development of planning recommendations.

The presentations summarized a wealth of information collected by experts at OPRD over the past two years in preparation for the Gorge planning process. These inventories included studies of:

• Natural Resources
• GIS Inventory
• Forestry
• Wildlife and Habitat
• Visitor Experience Activities
• Safety and Risk Management
• Visitor Surveys and Public Input
• Park Operating Costs
• Cultural Resources

The assessments comprise one of the most comprehensive inventories ever completed for any management unit in our State Park system. In addition to assisting the park planning process, these inventories will be a valuable tool in managing our parks in the Gorge over the next decade.

To make sense of all this information, the planning team created a connectivity diagram to map park data. This scaled map of the Gorge allows us to visually compare information for each park in the context of the Gorge and display our findings at a glance to better discuss existing conditions and patterns identified throughout the Gorge.

We introduced draft guiding values that were created as a result of our initial public meetings this summer. During the August meetings and in an online survey, we asked people to describe what they valued about the Gorge. These values summarize what heard: people who live and visit the Gorge appreciate it for its scenic beauty, exciting recreation opportunities, unique natural resources, rich cultural heritage, and interconnected communities. These values will shape the strategies that we are currently developing for our parks in the Gorge.

Please download a more detailed summary of our presentation here:

Presentation Slideshow PDF (22 mb)

Presentation Notes PDF (1 mb)

During the meetings we had several great discussions on a number of topics: recreation uses in the Columbia Gorge, access to parks and natural resources, economic draw for communities, park capacity, natural resource protection,  universal access, and park partnerships just to name a few. The feedback we heard was extremely valuable and directly shapes the development of plan recommendations and concepts for our park properties. These concepts will be shared at our next round of meetings.

East End Discussion Notes PDF (1mb)

West End Discussion Notes PDF (1mb)

If you were unable to attend one of the meetings, we look forward to hearing from you below or feel free to call and write:

Jaime English, Integrated Park Services

Oregon Parks & Recreation Department

725 Summer Street N.E. Suite C

Salem, OR 97301

Email: gorge.parksplan@state.or.us

Phone: 503.986-0723

Fax: 503.986.0792

Meeting II. Assessments

OPRD is currently conducting resource assessments and visitor experience assessments for the Columbia Gorge State Parks to better understand opportunities and constraints in the management of our park system. At our second set of public meetings we will present these findings. The community members and park staff will then work together to identify the most important values, strategies, and actions needed to guide the comprehensive planning and design efforts in all of the Oregon State Parks in the Columbia River Gorge.

West End   

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

5:20 -7:30pm

Gorge Pavilion

Marine Park – Cascade Locks, OR                                                    

East End    

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

5:30-7:30pm

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum

5000 Discovery Drive – The Dalles, OR

Advisory Committee*

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

1:00pm- 4:00

Gorge Pavilion

Marine Park – Cascade Locks, OR

*The public may attend the Advisory Committee meeting however, only comments from the committee will be taken at this meeting.