Oregon Zoo Director, Tony Vecchio, is pleased with the leadership and vision Metro has demonstrated in the condor project.“Metro is committed to conservation. By providing the land and biological expertise, Metro is helping to ensure the future of this critically endangered species. We could not accomplish this important goal without Metro’s generous support”, notes Vecchio.
Metro’s broad range of services, including land use planning, waste management, the metropolitan greenspaces program and the Oregon Zoo all share a similar goal to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat and our communities. Vecchio points out, “California condors once inhabited areas of Oregon.Metro’s role in the condor breeding program may one day result in their return to this state.”
In 1995, voters of the region approved an open spaces, parks and streams bond measure providing $135.6 million to purchase natural area land from willing sellers as future nature parks, trail corridors and habitat for fish and wildlife. To date, Metro has acquired more than 7,960 acres of land in 252 separate property transactions throughout the greater Portland metropolitan region. These properties also protect over 70 miles of stream and river frontage.
Metro provides services for the 1.3 million people who live in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and the 24 cities in the Portland metropolitan region. A regional approach makes sense when it comes to protecting open space, caring for parks, planning for the best use of land, managing garbage disposal and increasing recycling. Metro oversees world-class facilities – such as the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Convention Center – that benefit the region’s economy and support the arts. For more information, visit Metro’s web site.
along Clear Creek offers the necessary isolation and room for a successful condor breeding program.
