The Intertwine & The Intertwine Alliance Addressing Climate Change: A Regional Response Mike Houck, Director Urban Greenspaces Institute

My Assignment  Example of an Existing Program, The Intertwine Alliance  Success Through Regional Collaboration  Challenges We’ve Faced  Regional Conservation Strategy, A Model?  Role of Watershed Planning  Replication Through the Willamette Valley

 Example of an Existing Program, The Intertwine Alliance  Success Through Regional Collaboration  Role of Watershed Planning

Urban Biodiversity Is Not An Oxymoron

DIFFERENT SCALES = DIFFERENT ANSWERS Same 57 species Same 57 species Same Coarse Filter Same Coarse Filter Different MMU Different MMU Gap Analysis Metro Gap Low Richness Hi Richness Pond Turtle

“What’s the extinction of the Condor to a child who has never known a wren?” Robert Michael Pyle, “The Extinction of Experience” from The Thunder Tree

Dr. David Goode, Director of the London Ecology Unit Speaks at City Club of Portland as Country in the City keynote address

East Bay Regional Park District Tour 1990

PSU’s Dr. Joe Porascky and graduate student Paul Newman create first regional natural areas map for Metro regional park study and inventory, June, 1989

~ July 22, 1992 ~ Greenspaces Master Plan is adopted by Metro Council

1995 bond measure 62% voted “yes” $135.6 million total 8,120 acres and 74 miles of river and stream frontage $25 million local share for over 100 natural area related projects

Natural Areas, Parks & Streams Bond Measure, Fall 2006 $227.4 million total package: –$168.4 million for regional target areas –$44 million local share –$15 million opportunity grant fund Cost to property tax payers is estimated at 22 cents per $1,000 assessed value.

The Intertwine Vision Exceptional interconnected system of parks, natural areas, and trails, equitably throughout Portland- Vancouver region…..

Regional Greenspaces System

Drives the Economy and Tourism

Preserves significant natural areas

The system is considered an essential part of the urban infrastructure.

“Someday, all this will be infrastructure.”

Valuing Nature: Ecosystem Services

Economic benefits of the system are integrated into economic development and marketing strategies. Documenting Ecosystem Services: Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Johnson Creek floodplain before After

Protects biodiversity across urban and rural landscapes and beyond the region. Cascadia Willamette Valley

Attracts federal, state, and regional funding to expand, operate and maintain the system. Springwater on Willamette Trail

 The Regional Conservation Strategy, A Model?

Regional Conservation Strategy - Geography

June Charette

Willamette Basin Ecosystem Consortium FEMA Floodplains Metro Title 13 Fish and Wildlife TheNature Conservancy Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Expert Panel Metro Parks and Greenspaces New Look

Charrette with RCS model over

CAP cover (full screen) April 2009

Adapt successfully to a changing climate. –Strengthen capacity of natural systems to respond to more severe weather events, streamflow changes and flooding. –When planning investments, consider physical, social, environmental, economic and regulatory impacts of mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Climate change already is affecting the region’s air and water resources, the quantity and distribution of habitats, and the ranges and behavior of native fish and wildlife species.

Given the many unknowns and the interconnectedness of natural, built, and human systems, it would be wise to adopt a flexible, proactive approach to climate change that is consistent with the precautionary principle—i.e., to act now and manage assuming severe impacts.

Fortunately, across the region there are on-the-ground examples of how climate change adaptation strategies can be combined with other regional and project-level goals.

Theme: Protecting existing high-functioning areas, maintaining connectivity across the landscape, restoring and integrating natural areas and features into the built system provides multiple benefits, including mitigation for and adaptation to climate change.

 Challenges We've Faced Political, resistance to regionalism Silos, including state and local land use programs Inadequate documentation and documentation re ecosystem Services and multiple benefits of green infrastructure Lack of O & M Funding Moving from “one offs” to sustained effort Patience

 Could The Intertwine Alliance be Replicated in the Valley?

The Intertwine Alliance