Call for volunteers to complete trail at Sandy River Delta
Local volunteers will spend several mornings during June and October, 2008, working collaboratively with US Forest Service staff to complete a multiuse trail at Sandy River Delta. Just east of Troutdale OR, the 1.2 mile trail will lead visitors through a pristine riparian forest and meadow to the site of Maya Lin’s Bird Blind installation. Trail building days are scheduled for June 27 & 28, and October 1 & 2, 2008. Interested volunteers should visit the National Forest Foundation’s Friends of the Forest Program at www.becomeafriend.org to sign up for a half day of volunteer service at Sandy River Delta.
Sneak Preview Attracts 300 to Vancouver Land Bridge
Three hundred Vancouver-area residents turned out on a drizzly Friday afternoon, November 16, 2007, for their first steps on the Vancouver Land Bridge. “This bridge is an icon in our community,” Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard said in a front-page story in The Columbian.
Three artists involved in the project were on hand to talk informally about their concepts: Johnpaul Jones, lead architect and designer for the Vancouver Land Bridge and Interpretive Trail; René Senos, a key contributor to the native landscape architecture and design; Lillian Pitt, Pacific Northwest Native American artist whose work at the site includes the Welcome Gate and Sculpture Baskets. Another artist contributing to the site is Peter Attila Andrusko, a master artisan who is creating a 400-pound stone circle.
The bridge is again closed while further work is completed. It will be fully accessible and a dedication is expected to be held in mid-2008. Watch for more information in coming months.
Move to Ridgefield a success
The move of one of the Confluence Project’s seven sites from Frenchman’s Bar Park to Ridgefield celebrates the convergence of beauty with utility. In collaboration with Washington State University and the Port of Ridgefield, artist Maya Lin is crafting an environmental research center that perpetuates the Confluence Project’s vision of preserving natural resources for future generations.
Ridgefield, located just 10 miles from the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, hosts one of North America’s primary reserves for migrating waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway—a path of travel for migratory birds spanning from Alaska to Patagonia. The 5,217-acre refuge shares its fertile wetlands with an iconic past, including the Cathlapotle townsite, an ancient community discovered in 1806 by Lewis and Clark.
The decision to move to this historical and ecological crossroads has been met with great optimism. Hal Dengerink, Washington State University chancellor, calls the concept “a nice focal point for our aquatic and environmental research as well as our interest in environmental stewardship.”
Brent Grening, executive director of the Port of Ridgefield, also endorsed the move. “The idea supports the vision the Port has of developing the waterfront and the Port’s vision for North Clark County,” he says.
Maya Lin’s design integrates green building practices, maintaining the Confluence Project’s goal of promoting sustainability.
Confluence Project
