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featured as one of the nineteen most nature - friendly communities in the country and was described as a "shining star of wetlands preservation ", primarily due to the success of the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership (in the book "Nature- Friendly Communities: habitat protection and land use planning ", Island Press, 2005). The Partnership is an outgrowth of the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, which was developed with extensive public involvement and in coordination with key state and federal agencies, including the Oregon Department of State Lands, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The West Eugene Wetland Plan was adopted by local elected officials in 1992 and was then officially acknowledged by the Oregon Department of State Lands as a "Wetlands Conservation Plan". The eight member organizations of the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership are the City of Eugene, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, McKenzie River Trust, Willamette Resources and Educational Network, and Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. The City of Eugene and the Partnership have worked hard over the past fourteen years to implement the Plan. To date, we have collectively invested over twenty -five million dollars of local, state, federal, and private funds to implement the West Eugene Wetland Plan. Our Partnership accomplishments are numerous, and include the following: 1. Acquiring over 3,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands that are (mostly) hydrologically and ecologically connected. 2. Enhancing or restoring approximately 1000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands. 3. Enhancing several miles of stream, primarily along Amazon Creek. 4. Fostering extensive scientific research and monitoring on these species. We have done this through funding academic scientists (including Cheryl Schultz, Tom Kaye, Mark V. Wilson, Deborah Clark, and Paul Severns), allowing research to occur on Partnership lands, and instituting our own monitoring programs. This research contributed substantially to the species - specific information described in the Federal Register notice for the proposed habitat designation. 5. Collecting seeds and growing -out seeds of over 100 species of grasses and forbs, including all the preferred nectar species of Fender's blue butterfly. These seeds are then used on our enhancement and restoration projects. 6. Protected and expanded populations of plants and animals that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, including Bradshaw's lomatium (Lomatium bradshawii), Kincaid's lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kinkaidii), Willamette Valley daisy (Erigeron decumbens ssp. decumbens), and Fender's blue butterfly (Icaricia icariodes ssp.fenderi). 7. Developing an extensive curriculum to educate students and adults about the wetland and upland prairie ecosystem. 8. Developing interpretive and recreational facilities that allow the community to experience and learn about the wetland and upland prairie ecosystem. In summary, our Partnership has a 14 -year history of protecting, enhancing, and restoring these habitats and species. We believe the combined expertise represented by the local wetlands staff of City of Eugene, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and The Nature Conservancy is unparalleled in the Willamette Valley in terms of understanding how to effectively manage wetland prairie and upland prairie for long term viability of the habitats and the native species Page 2