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Guidelines for Tree and Shrub Plantings Along Amazon Creek <br />Acknowledgements <br />This document incorporates a collaborative project between the City of Eugene and the <br />University of Oregon, part of an international student exchange program, Urban Ecology: <br />Educating for Management of Cultural Landscapes. Trevor Taylor, Natural Resources Planning <br />Supervisor for the Parks and Open Space Division, worked in 2004 with Brit Zelinski on the <br />project, the outcome of which was Zelinski's Amazon Creek Plant Community Restoration Plan. <br />Taylor and other City staff in the Natural Resources Section and the Parks and Open Space <br />Division worked together to update and refine the plan. <br />Summary <br />This plan to provide shade for Amazon Creek was developed to make progress toward several <br />environmental improvement goals. Planting trees at the creek side and on the top of the bank, <br />where permissible, will improve the areas surrounding the length of the creek by providing <br />shade, beauty and wildlife habitat. A continuous tree line along the creek will encourage passive <br />and active recreation and improve the aesthetic quality of this important City asset. Pedestrians <br />and bicyclists, as well as wildlife, will benefit from an uninterrupted -as- possible corridor of <br />water and trees. Preserving and increasing the canopy of the urban forest brings many <br />environmental benefits, including noise reduction, air pollution reduction, higher oxygen and <br />lower carbon dioxide levels, sequestration of carbon, as well as increased property values. Tree <br />shade will help improve the temperature component of water quality in the Willamette River. <br />The more shade that can be provided for the open waters of Amazon Creek, the lower its <br />temperature as it enters the Long Tom and the Willamette. Tree establishment along the banks <br />will also help improve water quality by slowing the peak flow of storm water runoff and <br />absorbing and filtering ground water pollutants through tree roots. Trees will be planted and <br />established, at appropriate locations, to maximize shade on reaches of the stream within the <br />City's regulatory control. The City will use grant monies, volunteer labor, contractual and staff <br />work forces to implement the plan. Progress will be measured and reported on annually in the <br />NPDES BUT for tree planting (P3 - Tree Planting and Urban Forest Enhancement). <br />Introduction <br />The Director of the Parks and Open Spaces (POS) Division of Public Works assigned the Urban <br />Forester the task of developing a plan to plant trees to provide shade for the waters of Amazon <br />Creek. The Urban Forester met several times with a group of interested parties to discuss the <br />scope, purpose, priorities, and development of the plan. It quickly became apparent that a plan <br />already existed that fulfills a main objective of the assignment — on a reach -by -reach basis, to <br />describe the most suitable locations, densities, and species of trees and shrubs to plant along <br />Amazon Creek to improve its native plant community (Brit Zelinski plan). The consensus of the <br />group was to refine the document and to coordinate the plan with capital project work outlined in <br />the Metro Waterways Amazon Creek Planning Area Enhancement Alternatives. The plan has <br />been reviewed by the Public Works Parks and Open Space Director and Public Works <br />Maintenance Director and will be presented for comments and suggestions to all of the Public <br />Works Division Managers. After adoption, the plan will be implemented as resources allow by <br />K <br />