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Please Join Our Portland Harbor CAG at the
Braided River Gallery at Lloyd Center
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
At 5:00 p.m. Pacific
**In Person event Only**
at 1139 NE Halsey St, Portland OR 97232
*Please note that you will enter the mall on the Barns and Nobel level off of NE Halsey St. *Look for Portland Harbor CAG signs
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Please join the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group (PHCAG) for a late afternoon gathering at the Braided River Gallery at Lloyd Center, Wednesday, November 8th from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.
The Braided River Gallery weaves together the overlapping themes of the Lower Willamette River through the work of many artists and community members. Growing out of early tours at the University of Portland and a collection old photos, to an ever emerging look at the Portland Harbor and its place in our community. We hope you will have time to relax and enjoy the exhibit, as well as socialize and network with each other. Light refreshments will be served. At 6:30 the Emerging Coalition will hold its monthly meeting.
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***News on the River***
Responsible Parties Reach Settlement for More Than $33 Million to Restore Natural Resources
in Portland Harbor
The US Department of Justice filed the City’s settlement of Portland Harbor Natural Resource Damages in federal court yesterday. This is a settlement with the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustees and includes five Tribal Nations, the State of Oregon, and the US Government. The decision settles the Natural Resource Trustees’ claims for damages to Tribal resources, ecological damages, and recreation in the Portland Harbor stretch of the Willamette River.
The City is part of the first group of parties to reach a settlement with the Trustees. Approximately 20 parties settled, but there are many more potentially responsible parties that have yet to reach an agreement.
The City has worked towards this settlement for a long time. Since 2007, the City has assisted and funded the Trustees’ work to identify the damages and quantify the losses in Portland Harbor. The City was one of the early funders to restore habitat at the Alder Creek Restoration Project on Sauvie Island. The City’s early work benefited the river habitat and was credited against the City’s share of the settlement. The City’s settlement includes the value of the habitat work at Alder Creek and $1.9M in cash payments to the Trustees. However, because of the City’s credits for past funding to the Trustees, the City’s outstanding cash payment is reduced to ~$335,000.
While this first group of settling parties addresses only a portion of the total estimated resource losses, the settlement will bring significant resources to the Trustees to help restore natural resources of cultural and ecological significance in the Willamette River.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe are represented on the Trustee Council. The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation are not part of the Portland Harbor Trustee Council. Yakama Nation’s claim for Natural Resource Damages extends to the Columbia River is not included in the settlement. Their case remains in federal court and is currently stayed.
Next, the settlement will be filed in the US District Court in Portland. The judge will review the settlement to ensure that it is fair and reasonable. As a practical matter, the Tribes, and federal and state resource agencies would only bring a settlement to court that they can defend as reasonable and fair. More information can be found here.
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***Upcoming Events***
REMEMBERING
YORK
FILM SCREENING &
DISCUSSION
SAT, NOVEMBER 4TH – 4:80 PM
209 NW ATH AVE 2ND FLOOR PORTLAND
(DOORS OPEN AT 4 PM ) Join us in viewing a short film made by University of
Oregon students in the Multimedia & Journalism Graduate Program on the history of York & the community vision behind honoring him with the York Work Group this Saturday, get tickets here LABS Media 209 NW 4th Ave. Join us in community to raise awareness for York, the York Work Group, and the pursuit of their vision. Following the screening, we will have a panel discussion led by an intergenerational group of filmmakers, historians, community organizers, and leaders of York Work Group coming together to raise awareness of York and support the realization of a York Urban Village.
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