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GoGreenNation news

Opinion: Time to set things right at Ross Island

News Feed
Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Bob Sallinger and Mike HouckSallinger is executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper. Houck is executive director of Urban Greenspaces Institute. They both live in Portland.Ross Island is one of the crown jewels of Portland’s natural areas. The largest in a four-island archipelago clustered near downtown Portland, Ross Island and its sister islands are a refuge for great blue herons and bald eagles and an oasis of green for nature loving paddlers. This incredible urban natural area should be a top priority for protection, restoration and nature-based recreation.Instead, it has suffered from decades of neglect and unfulfilled environmental restoration obligations since the closure of the gravel-mining operation run by Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co.Last month, a fire broke out among abandoned tires and old machinery on the island. It took the efforts of more than 40 firefighters to quell, threatened the island’s valuable wildlife habitat and enveloped much of Portland in billowing thick, black smoke.It is time – in fact long past time – for the company to resolve outstanding issues and obligations related to Ross Island and transfer its 350 acres to an entity that is capable of truly taking care of this special place.Although Ross Island Sand and Gravel Company shut down its mining operations and gravel processing plant on the island two decades ago, the dilapidated industrial structures and associated debris remain. The company’s habitat restoration obligations, which predate the termination of its mining operations, have dragged on for 30 years and the Oregon Division of State Lands recently fined the company $2.9 million for missing restoration deadlines and failing to provide a security bond to protect the public interest in the event the company goes bankrupt or otherwise fails to deliver on its obligations.Willamette Week recently reported that Ross Island Sand & Gravel is under investigation by the federal government for selling Ross Island to its own employee pension fund for $10.8 million–the company got a small fortune while the company’s nearly 2,400 former employees got what is likely a distressed asset.The habitat on the company’s portion of the island has been allowed to degrade, the waterways around the island have been become a haven for transient boats and illegal encampments have proliferated on the island. Harmful algae blooms emerge from the stagnant water in the island’s lagoon each summer turning the water downstream of the island into a toxic hazard to people, pets and wildlife. The small inferno that erupted on the island last month is a stark reminder of what has been apparent for a long time: the island deserves better, and Portland deserves better.We are calling on Dr. Robert Pamplin, Jr., who owns Ross Island Sand & Gravel, to fulfill his outstanding restoration responsibilities and resolve the island’s legal entanglements. We also urge him to work with the community to expeditiously transfer the company’s ownership interest on the island to either a public agency such as the Portland Parks bureau or Metro, or to a nonprofit capable of managing the island to its full potential.We have also asked Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to fully investigate the fire. Neighborhoods in the vicinity of Ross Island were enveloped in thick black smoke for hours. It is important to understand what kinds of materials were released from this industrial site and the risk of future fires.Dr. Pamplin has a long history of philanthropy in Portland. In 2007, we worked with him to transfer 45 acres on Ross Island to Portland Parks and Recreation. He has amassed great wealth mining Ross Island and it is time for him to transfer the remainder. His most visible legacy should not be a degraded, neglected, remnant industrial site in the middle of the river in downtown Portland. It is time to set things right at Ross Island.Share your opinion Submit your essay of 600-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. No attachments, please. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

A fire that broke out last month among old tires and machinery underscores the need to transfer ownership of Ross Island to an entity that can take care of this environmentally rich natural area, write Bob Sallinger of Willamette Riverkeeper and Mike Houck of Urban Greenspaces Institute.

Bob Sallinger and Mike Houck

Sallinger is executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper. Houck is executive director of Urban Greenspaces Institute. They both live in Portland.

Ross Island is one of the crown jewels of Portland’s natural areas. The largest in a four-island archipelago clustered near downtown Portland, Ross Island and its sister islands are a refuge for great blue herons and bald eagles and an oasis of green for nature loving paddlers. This incredible urban natural area should be a top priority for protection, restoration and nature-based recreation.

Instead, it has suffered from decades of neglect and unfulfilled environmental restoration obligations since the closure of the gravel-mining operation run by Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co.

Last month, a fire broke out among abandoned tires and old machinery on the island. It took the efforts of more than 40 firefighters to quell, threatened the island’s valuable wildlife habitat and enveloped much of Portland in billowing thick, black smoke.

It is time – in fact long past time – for the company to resolve outstanding issues and obligations related to Ross Island and transfer its 350 acres to an entity that is capable of truly taking care of this special place.

Although Ross Island Sand and Gravel Company shut down its mining operations and gravel processing plant on the island two decades ago, the dilapidated industrial structures and associated debris remain. The company’s habitat restoration obligations, which predate the termination of its mining operations, have dragged on for 30 years and the Oregon Division of State Lands recently fined the company $2.9 million for missing restoration deadlines and failing to provide a security bond to protect the public interest in the event the company goes bankrupt or otherwise fails to deliver on its obligations.

Willamette Week recently reported that Ross Island Sand & Gravel is under investigation by the federal government for selling Ross Island to its own employee pension fund for $10.8 million–the company got a small fortune while the company’s nearly 2,400 former employees got what is likely a distressed asset.

The habitat on the company’s portion of the island has been allowed to degrade, the waterways around the island have been become a haven for transient boats and illegal encampments have proliferated on the island. Harmful algae blooms emerge from the stagnant water in the island’s lagoon each summer turning the water downstream of the island into a toxic hazard to people, pets and wildlife. The small inferno that erupted on the island last month is a stark reminder of what has been apparent for a long time: the island deserves better, and Portland deserves better.

We are calling on Dr. Robert Pamplin, Jr., who owns Ross Island Sand & Gravel, to fulfill his outstanding restoration responsibilities and resolve the island’s legal entanglements. We also urge him to work with the community to expeditiously transfer the company’s ownership interest on the island to either a public agency such as the Portland Parks bureau or Metro, or to a nonprofit capable of managing the island to its full potential.

We have also asked Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to fully investigate the fire. Neighborhoods in the vicinity of Ross Island were enveloped in thick black smoke for hours. It is important to understand what kinds of materials were released from this industrial site and the risk of future fires.

Dr. Pamplin has a long history of philanthropy in Portland. In 2007, we worked with him to transfer 45 acres on Ross Island to Portland Parks and Recreation. He has amassed great wealth mining Ross Island and it is time for him to transfer the remainder. His most visible legacy should not be a degraded, neglected, remnant industrial site in the middle of the river in downtown Portland. It is time to set things right at Ross Island.

Share your opinion

Submit your essay of 600-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. No attachments, please. Please include your email and phone number for verification.

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