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Project IEP City dti Hatmaker- Johnston • <br /> • The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the 404 -acre Willow Creek Natural Area — home of native wet <br /> prairie. <br /> • In total, the west Eugene wetland system has over 2,200 acres in public and non - profit group ownership, the <br /> City of Eugene's largest open space system. <br /> • In January 1999, a broad -based education committee formed and began work on a permanent and interim <br /> environmental education center. Committee membership includes public agencies, non - profits, environmental <br /> groups, Eugene residents and local school districts, among others. If fundraising is successful, a permanent <br /> environmental education facility will be completed by 2003. <br /> • Wildlife viewing platforms, a photo hide, and biking and hiking trails have been constructed to enhance public <br /> use opportunities to enjoy the tremendous wildlife diversity. BLM has used foundation grants, a Health of the <br /> Land award, scouts, and volunteers to build these facilities. <br /> • The City of Eugene adopted a natural resource zoning district and applied a waterside protection zone to <br /> streams and a wetland protection buffer around key wetlands. <br /> • The City of Eugene formed a wetland mitigation bank in 1993. To date the bank has restored over 50 acres of <br /> wetlands and sold credits to 44 private and public customers at $30,000 per credit for over $1.3 million in total <br /> sales. Where wetlands have been designated for development, the Plan has assisted decision - making at the <br /> local, state, and federal levels. <br /> • Oregon Youth Conservation Corps crews have worked with the partners the last three summers. In 1999, 82 <br /> youth and 17 crew leaders provided over 3,400 hours of effort collecting seeds and bulbs; maintaining, design- <br /> ing and constructing trails, and removing unwanted plants. <br /> • The City of Eugene and Oregon Department of Transportation funded a $3.3 million, two-mile bike path and <br /> stream restoration project along Amazon Creek using Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act <br /> (ISTEA) funds. <br /> • A $5 million Water Resources Development Act, section 1135, project began in 1999 to improve a 400 -acre <br /> area on lower Amazon Creek. This stream and wetland restoration project involves the Corps, City of Eugene, <br /> and BLM. Restoration and enhancement involves work by the Corps and the City's mitigation bank. <br /> • The Plan and its inventories have returned greater certainty to the industrial region. Businesses know where the <br /> wetlands are and which can be developed and which cannot. Environmentalists know that a program of <br /> protection is in place for the most valuable wetlands. Regulatory agencies have guidance for easier and quicker <br /> decision- making. Property owners had wetlands reassessed by the County Assessor. Many have sold wetlands <br /> willingly to the partners. <br /> • Research using West Coast Universities and local colleges has focused on the effects of prescribed burns, rare <br /> plants and animals, water quality, prairie restoration techniques, and the prairie plant community. <br /> '7R <br /> August 2000 <br />