For all TODAY's environmental news for the bioregion, go to InterRain's The Tidepool
Read more information about the Tryon Creek watershed by the University of Portland. This is a wonderful site with many specific facts about the watershed.
Skip down the page to current issues and work tasks.
A 
name for the Metro Greenspace at the Headwaters of Arnold Creek!
Children from Markham School learning about the Metro wildlife refuge at the headwaters of Arnold Creek, March 1996.
Listen 
to Arnold Creek! (223k .WAV - for those new to computerspeak, that means it takes a long time to download. But, hey, how many other web pages offer the sound of a bubbling creek?)
Click this symbol for a map showing Arnold Creek's location
Headwaters at SW 45th to SW 35th
SW 35th to the east end of Arnold Woods and Palatine Heights
SW Lancaster to SW Creightonwood Place
SW 11th Drive to the confluence with Tryon Creek at Boones Ferry
Friends of Arnold Creek was established in December 1993. Its primary focus at that time was the protection of the headwaters of Arnold Creek, a goal initially achieved by the 1995 purchase of ten acres in the West Portland Park neighborhood by the Metro Greenspaces program.
Group structure was determined by five Board members. The founding Board members were Jim Baker, Patty Barker, Nancy Drais, Amanda Fritz, and Paul Mattson.
The mission of Friends of Arnold Creek is to preserve and enhance the health of the Arnold Creek watershed.
Friends of Arnold Creek is a semi-formal, semi-dormant group of neighbors, who occasionally get fired up to plan and implement practical activities that improve the health of the Arnold Creek watershed. To be notified of plantings etc, subscribe to the SWNI Newsletter, using the link to Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. later on this page.
In 1999, our main achievement was as part of a coalition successfully encouraging the cities of Portland and Lake Oswego to buy 10 acres of land on SW Stephenson between SW 37th and SW 39th. This land, now known as KERR PARK, will be jointly managed by the two cities' Parks Departments, to become a habitat park with walking trails. Friends of Arnold Creek will be participating in planning and improvements for this wonderful new park.
In 2000 - 2001, our efforts have been limited to continued monthly water quality monitoring at the headwaters of Arnold Creek. We have data on dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and turbidity, every month for the past five years.
Friends of Arnold Creek members also participate in the Tryon Creek Watershed Council
To find out more about Friends of Arnold Creek, send e-mail to:
Amanda Fritz
On-site and Regional Stormwater Management:
The Friends of Arnold Creek are involved in discussions with many stakeholders about how to manage stormwater more effectively. One solution would be to require integration of stormwater management and landscape design. This restaurant parking lot in Spokane, Washington, shows how inobtrusive, attractive, and effective such arrangements can be.
Note the curb cuts allowing runoff from the parking lot to filter through the grass before reaching the overflow outlet.
The photo doesn't show this very well, but the pipe delivering water from a nearby road is about a foot lower than the overflow outlet grate. This allows accumulation of water and settling out of pollutants before the storm sewer takes the water to the river.
The new street is sloped to direct runoff to the grassy swale on the far left of the photograph. See all the details on Friends of Arnold Creek's Swale Page, or look at individual photographs of a close-up of the swale, its connection to a piped system, and the outflow at Arnold Creek.
A beautiful old growth stump was unearthed and preserved during the project. It was moved to a place of honor highlighting the entrance to the forest.
Applegate Watershed Citizen-government partnerships improving their watershed
The Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy Community and watershed issues
Oregon River Organizations Lists all watershed groups in Oregon by zip code
American Heritage Rivers Find out the latest on President Clinton's initiative to support community-led watershed protection efforts. Friends of Arnold Creek co-sponsored the SUCCESSFUL NOMINATION OF THE WILLAMETTE RIVER for this honor.
If you didn't see the watershed you're interested in, try EPA's Surf Your Watershed
River Resources Good site for classrooms studying rivers
The Salmon Page A comprehensive review of the life cycle of the salmon, including how to cook them, by fifth graders
Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc Includes updated information on district parks and planning work
Crestwood Neighborhood Association SW Portland's first and best neighborhood association home page
West Portland Park Neighbors No longer sponsored by the West Portland Park Neighborhood Association, due to concern about editorial control, but still has many useful local links
Maplewood Neighborhood Association Has been under construction 1/97, but hey, it's there
Oregon On-line A great place to start surfing around the state
Tryon Creek State Park Can you identify the bridge in the photo?
Eric's Links By one of the City of Portland's Bureau of Planning planners
Oregon Land Use Information Center Everything you ever wanted to know about land use issues in Oregon. This site is awesome.
Planning and Architecture Resource Center A national site
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