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• Metro also held a series of public forums around the region to gather citizen recom- mendations regarding the bond measure. The Metro Council then considered all the recommendations, heard additional testimony and voted to refer the $135.6 million open space acquision bond measure to the voters. What effect With an increase in population, our natural resources and accessibility to nature will will growth decrease, and water quality will be affected. Land available for parks, trails and open have on open spaces and wildlife habitat will continue to decline unless additions are made to the spaces in the land base at the same rate that development occurs. region? In 1989 an inventory and mapping project was undertaken to determine the amount of open space remaining in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties. Of the 372,682 acres in the region, 108,077 acres, or 29 percent, of the region's lands were considered natural areas. Of the 108,077 acres, 8.5 percent of these natural areas (9,186 acres) were in public ownership. More than half the acres in public ownership existed in just two locations: 5,000 -acre Forest Park and 1,000 -acre Oxbow Regional Park. Open spaces not in public ownership are being reduced as a result of a growing population. Between 1979 and 1994, more than 35,400 acres of privately owned open space were converted to accommodate regional growth. At this rate of growth, the region is losing an average of 2,360 acres of open space each year. What is the Our growing population is placing additional demands for quality recreational need for opportunities on our public parks systems. A five -year study conducted from 1988 recreation to 1993 by Oregon State Parks revealed that many types of recreation activities are lands in our experiencing mid to high levels of growth and that the region lacks sufficient supply region? for many recreation activities. The study found that people want high quality recreation experiences. Park visitors' most common goal is to recreate in an attractive, natural environment under un- crowded, non - stressful conditions. More than 65 percent of all visitors surveyed use the parks and natural areas for relaxing, viewing scenery, enjoying solitude, wildlife viewing, picnicking, hiking and fishing. Many of the high growth activities require land space within or near population centers and are largely dependent on the quality and quantity of the land. Moderate and high growth activities include: tent camping, bicycle trips, day hiking on trails, wildlife observation, bank and boat fishing, outdoor photography, nature study, RV camping and jogging. There will be a continued need in the region for parks, trails and wildlife habitat to meet the ongoing and increasing recreation demands of a growing regional popula- tion.