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11 iii '3i ; ' ' ) I ` ments, the mitigation bank and private nonprofit organi '— . I zations such as The Nature Conservancy. 4.....as1 £` �' = STEVE GORDON envisions a future in which business i : 7 and industry coexist with nature, where businesses will � : s' ;' `' ' '� locate in West Eugene because of the wetlands —not in // t, , 4 spite of them. Employees could spend their lunch hours I!114' ; ,' 1 canoeing or bicycling, strolling among wildflowers or _,; ` Q . f 1 , watching waterfowl. He even sees businesses using an � ' r T�j j l 1 _ % � ! ;til fd d�rr e image of environmental sensitivity to attract customers. _�� : „oer s. To Gordon the future is bright for both ecology and economy. Others agree. Says Clayton Walker, a developer A With the Conservancy and others, Steve Gordon helped in Eugene for 20 years and president of the West Eugene craft a plan that protects both nature and business. Community Association: "In the late 1980s we didn't know what to do and couldn't get any direction. I've sup- ported the West Eugene wetlands plan because it has the allowing development on the less important ones, says goal of providing certainty for the future. It's a good Steve Gordon. It calls for recreation and educational approach. Now it's starting to look like there will be a opportunity, with waterways, trails and an interpretive demand for industrial development again. Most of us I center where citizens can learn about wetlands. involved are now cautiously optimistic." Central to both preservation and enhancement of the The plan itself can be used in other communities deal - wetlands and to economic development is a "mitigation ing with wetlands management. The federal bank." In effect, this allows developers to pay for the kind Environmental Protection Agency, which funded about of work Spectra Physics did on its own and hand off all 40 percent of the cost of planning, had that in mind from the details of land acquisition and rehabilitation to the the start. They knew that many cities -16 in Oregon local or federal government. In addition, a streamlined alone —are facing wetlands issues as they grow. permit application will reduce the paperwork wait from "We were looking for a community we could use as a months to weeks. model," says William Riley, EPA regional wetlands pro - Federal agencies, including the Bonneville Power gram manager in the Northwest. "The plan had to be Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management good for wetlands and also good for the community in (BLM), will help implement the plan. The BLM has terms of predictable growth. We got Steve Gordon's lead - already purchased 18 acres of West Eugene wetlands and ership and drive and a community that took a problem has offers pending on 200 more. Ultimately, the BLM will and turned it into an opportunity." own about 1,000 acres in the area as a public trust. The EPA has allocated $100,000 to help other commu- Daniel Bowman, BLM wetlands project manager, nities adapt the West Eugene wetlands planning process points to Danebo Pond, not far from his office in the heart to their own wetlands issues. Officials from at least 25 • of the wetlands. "In 1967 this was a barrow pit. It filled in, cities have expressed interest and Gordon already has and now there's beaver in it, and great blue herons. made more than a dozen presentations at national and Mother Nature is taking it back. This makes me think that regional planners' conferences. mitigation can work." He gestures to an expanse of grassland once used for CHUCK MISSAR STRIDES along Amazon channel, grasses trap- shooting but otherwise undisturbed. "This 75 acres is waving halfway up his long legs. He's five minutes from possibly the largest native grassland in the Willamette his office, on the 30 acres Spectra Physics bought to reha- Valley. In these wetlands we're dealing with a habitat that bilitate. Pink, blue and white flags locate reintroduced is in much shorter supply than old - growth forest." native plants. Missar surveys stream bank and field, alert Wetlands acquisition, rehabilitation and maintenance for red fox, pointing to a spot where a pair of Canada will cost an e sriMated $16.4 million over the next 20 geese nest. A kestrel falcon soars above. years. Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield, Representative Peter "1 wish we hadn't had to do this," he says. "We have DeFazio and former Representative Les AuCoin helped enough challenges making scanners at a profit without appropriate $3 million in federal funds to the BLM. Other becoming wetlands experts. But we did get what we want- sources of funding include the state and city govern- ed, our permit. The city retained us as a reasonably happy 14 NATURE CONSERVANCY • SEI'I EMBER /OCTOBER 1993