•-SANDY (Or».) POST Thur* . Oct t 1W(S« J)
Biologists disagree over issue of wetlands
by MICHAEL P JONES
Poet Correspondent
Many people, including
U.S Secretary of the In
tenor James Watt, undent
tand the role of wetlands in
maintaining the ecological
balance
It shouldn't be surprising
that their existence would
create yet another furor
between developers and
conservationists in the Mt
Hood corridor
Biologists believe such
areas are one of our
nation’s
most
vital
resources, contributing
toward maintaining and
improving water quality,
as well as aiding habitats
for fisheries, birds and
many wildlife species
In the Mt Hood area
what is believed to be an
important wetland area is
a «»-acre wooded tract of
land near Brightwood,
known as Cedar Ridge
This area is situated
along Highway 26 and ex
tends
north
to
the
Brightwood Loop Road and
south to the Salmon River,
where it follows the
meander of the waterway
Here the area stretches
east to the boundaries of
the Bureau of Land
Management's Wildwood
Park
At one time much of this
area, prior to the building
of Highway 26. was oc
cupied by a large silver fox
farm The farm operated
until sometime in the 1940s
In the 1960s the late Roy
Caruthers, a Brightwood
resident and dentist who
maintained his practice in
the Lents area of southeast
Portland, had the area log
ged and planned the first
condominium and golf
course for the area
On New Year s Eve in
1969 Caruthers' untimely
death, ps the result of an
accident that occurred
while
operating
a
snowplow, set the stage for
a decade of controversy for
Cedar Ridge, as other
developers eyed the area
for resort housing
Today, three large
developments are planned
for the Cedar Ridge area
These developments would
occupy an estimated 450
acres and accommodate
847 townhouses and con
dominiums, 192 mobile
homes, three recreational
halls, parking facilities,
sidewalks and roads
Harold Winegar of
Prineville, a consulting
biologist for such groups as
the Mt
Hood Natural
Resources Coalition and
the
Rhododendron
Neighborhood Group,
warns that the Cedar Ridge
area, as well as similar
areas in the corridor,
should not be developed
Any disturbance of the
area's wetlands could
mean the destruction of
Cedar Ridge, as well as the
adjacent Salmon River, as
we know them today
Equally as fragile are the
so-called “dry” higher
areas Winegar said these
areas are important
because they contribute to
the wholistic function of the
wetland
This wetland
area, which Winegar
prefers to call a "riparian
system,” acts as a filter
that purifies the water as
well as maintaining the
stream flows in the Salmon
River
The riparian system also
maintains various plant
communities which, along
with soil and gravel
deposits, naturally filters
out pollutants This plant
community also provides a
habitat for birds and a
variety of wildlife species
The developers of the
proposed
345-unit
Brightwood Glen s5bdivi-
sion, the Real Estate Loan
Fund (RELF) of Salem,
disagree with Winegar, and
believe that most of these
concerns can be mitigated
through a well-engineered
stormwater drainage
system
RELF nil. '»Is con
tracted last year with Bier-
iy 4 Associates Inc., a
wetland and waterway
resource consultant also
headquartered in Salem, to
analyze the stormwater
drainage system proposed
by the developers The
system was engineered by
Boatwright Engineering
Inc . also of Salem
The primary parcel of
the Brightwood Glen
development lies between
Highway 26 and the Salmon
River It is bordered by
Miller Road on the east A
steep ridge spans the boun
danés of the development
to the west, and acts as a
barrier between the sub
division and an old wagon
road, today called Blue Jay
Lane
Ken Bierly of the con
sulting firm visited the site
on two occasions in May of
1981 The purpose of the
visits were for "verifying
vegetation and soil condi
tions and observing
hydrologic setting and
behavior" of the wetlands
Bierly did not address
the issue of the 19 acres of
wetlands
that
were
reported to be located in
the platted area of the
development The study
focused on a wetland area
located just above the
Salmon River on a flood-
deposited berm that rises
an estimated three to four
feet The findings were
compiled in a report that
was submitted to the
Clackamas County plann
ing division for review.
Since the developers pro
posed to discharge an
undetermined amount of
stormwater into wetlands
administered by the BLM,
a copy was submitted to
that agency also. This
wetland area is located 120
feet south of the develop
ment.
The total area of the
BLM wetlands was not ad
dressed in the report,
rather the primary focus
was on a large pond, which
was estimated to cover
about three-quarters of an
acre According to the
Bierly report, this pond
"occupies an abandoned
meander channel of the
Salmon River ”
From the pond a small
creek flows down over a
cliff into a waterfall that
empties into the Salmon
River some 60 feet below
To the southeast, only a
short distance from where
the falls enter the river, the
Cedar Ridge area is dotted
with beaver ponds and
small streams This area is
only a few feet higher than
the river at high water.
Winegar said this area
clearly illustrates the uni
que geologic contrasts that
this “riparian system
possesses ”
Bierly classified the
BLM wetland area as an
“inland shallow fresh
marsh" or a "Palustrine
Emergent" wetland that is
“persistent and semi
permanently flooded ”
Like Winegar. the poten
tial impact of the storm
water discharge system in
to the Salmon River was
identified by Bierly as be
ing increased bank erosion
and, as a direct result,
changes in water quality
Bierly also acknowledg
ed there is the potential for
increased sedimentation in
the wetland Winegar went
a step further, saying that
by passing large amounts
of stormwater through the
wetland it could result in its
destruction due to the in
creased pollutants, which
would be carried along in
the runoff
If this were to happen the
impact on both the Salmon
River, and the wetland
itself, could be substantial,
according to Winegar
However, according to the
Bierly report, no such im
pact will occur as a result
of the proposed stormwater
drainage and retention
system that has been
designed
for
the
Brightwood Glen develop
ment
Winegar claims the
Cedar Ridge riparian
system is already overtax
ed
Additional impacts on
this area would only mean
a further degredatioti of the
Mt Hood corrider, he said
The developers propose
to drain the high-water
areas of the subdivision
site into a detention pond,
which would be located
near the junction of
Highway 26 and Miller
Road From here the water
will be channeled into the
BLM pond
To prevent oil and grease
from passing into the pond.
the developers will con
struct the detention facility
to trap such pollutants
How this will be ac
complished is not identified
m the report But Bierly did
state that "wetlands have
been demonstrated to be ef
fective in the removal of
urban
drainage
pollutants "
The report notes the size
and design of the pond
"will facilitate settling of
suspended materials and
remove added nutrients
from
the
discharge
waters.”
The only adverse impact
the Bierly report said
would occur as a result of
the proposed stormwater
system relates to the fre
quency of flows into the
wetlands that could occur
as a result of floods, or in
times of water shortages
After reviewing the
report and surveying the
site. Winegar said he could
not concur with Bierly’s
findings He said draining
the area proposed by the
developer will adversely
disrupt existing plant com
munities and the natural
drainage of the area
In
addition,
said
Winegar, a large portion of
the site's "natural filters."
such as vegetation and
soils, are being removed
from the purification prth
cess since most of the
water is to be diverted into
a holding pond and then
released into the wetland
through a pipe
Another
criticism
Winegar said he has of the
proposed drainage system
is that it wouldn't maintain
the natural time schedule
of the riparian system,
which allows water to be
released in cycles to main
tain flows Much of this
release reportedly helps
maintain various plant
species and maintains
flows in the Salmon River
Truss requested a joint
investigation of the site bet
ween the project's wetland
consultant, Bierly, and
Gary Cook, the county s
natural resource planner
As a result of that in
vestigation. which took
place on July 7, the wetland
area was reduced from 19
acres to nine
On June 5, 1961. Edward
G Stauter of the BLM
reviewed the stormwater
plan and agreed that no
adverse impact to the
wetlands would result
"We have reviewed Lie
proposed storm runoff
drainage for Brightwood
Glen P.U.D «planned unit
development) that would
impact public land under
our jurisdiction and have
concluded that there would
be no noticeable impact on
the wetlands," wrote
Stauter. "We have no ob
jections to the p.cposed
discharge."
Pihl,
Shiprack
to debate
Mark
Pihl,
Republican candidate
for the House of
Representatives for
District 23, and his oppo
nent. Bob Shiprack, a
Democrat, will debate
Oct. 14 at 7 30 p m at
Sandy Union High
School
Jack Peters, SUHS
superintendent,
is
organizing the sym
posium Dennis Crow,
assistant principal, is to
serve as moderator.
The public is invited
to submit questions
prior to the debate
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