New Search
1.� <br /> li <br /> E U G E N E November 19, 2003 <br /> Parks and <br /> Open Space <br /> a division ofPublic wogs Board of Trustees <br /> 1820 Roosevelt Blvd. Meyer Memorial Trust <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97402 425 NW 10 Avenue, Suite 400 <br /> (541) 6824800 Portland, Oregon 97209 <br /> (541) 682 -4882 Fax <br /> www.ci.eugene.or.uslpw /parks <br /> Dear Members of the Board: <br /> On behalf of the City of Eugene and the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership, <br /> am pleased to provide this letter of commitment and support for the grant <br /> application being submitted to the Meyer Memorial Trust by the Willamette <br /> Resources and Educational Network (WREN). The project for which WREN <br /> seeks your financial support, the West Eugene Wetlands Education Center, <br /> has the City's full commitment, both in the funds we plan to contribute and in <br /> countless hours of ongoing staff involvement. As an active partner with <br /> WREN, the City of Eugene, along with environmental organizations, <br /> Parks and Open specialists in several fields, including science, education, and construction, <br /> Space Planning as well as hundreds of community volunteers, have already committed over a <br /> Parks Maintenance decade of time and hard work to obtaining and developing this portion of the <br /> Willamette Valley's once vast, wet prairie habitat. <br /> Urban Forestry <br /> Wetlands and Open The City is a significant steward and co-manager of this 2,500 -acre, urban <br /> Waterways wetlands known as the West Eugene Wetlands. We work cooperatively and <br /> collaboratively with many partners, including The Nature Conservancy, the <br /> US Bureau of Land Management, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the <br /> Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the <br /> McKenzie River Trust for the protection and enhancement of this resource. <br /> The Plan for these wetlands is a state and national award winner, and <br /> incorporates habitat protection, a mitigation bank, stream restoration, <br /> floodplain protection, natural resource conservation, and, vitally important, <br /> community and youth education programs. We work closely with WREN's <br /> education specialist in this regard. <br /> The City shares WREN's dream for an Education Center at this site, and we are <br /> excited to be a part of the creation of its first and tremendously important <br /> component, a school- based, environmental education center. It is essential to <br /> restore, protect, and preserve this natural environment so key to biological <br /> diversity through work and through education. The unique educational <br /> opportunity for hundreds of area school children is unprecedented. The center <br /> will educate, promote environmental awareness, share cultural and <br /> environmental history, and develop new caretakers among children, teachers, <br /> and the community -at- large. <br /> \EUGENE <br />