Two updates in the Fight for Forest Park! If you’ve been following the story of PGE’s Harborton Reliability Project, the next stage in the approval process–a public hearing–has been scheduled. Additionally, we have created a new advocacy resource page to allow people to more easily read about the proposal, make their voice heard and share with friends and family.
If you haven’t heard about the proposal yet, phase 3 of the Harborton Reliability Project would clear-cut 4.7 acres of trees in the northern part of Forest Park, with future phases removing up to an additional 15 acres, causing irreversible damage to the local habitat. If you would like to learn more or want to help spread the word, we encourage you to check out and share our new informational hub page, which details this proposal and some of our primary reasons for opposing it.
Get Involved: Public Hearing & Open Comment Period:
The city’s Hearings Office has scheduled a public hearing regarding PGE’s Harborton Reliability Project, on Wednesday, January 29th at 9 a.m. During this hearing, reports on the proposal will be shared and you will have a chance to join in the fight for Forest Park!
A lot of people have been asking us how they can become involved in opposing the Harborton Reliability Project, and this is your next opportunity to do so! This event is important as following this hearing, the Hearings Officer reviewing this proposal will then make a decision on its approval. While this decision can be appealed, we strongly encourage community members to participate in this public hearing. Submitting a comment and attending the hearing is one way to make your voice heard, stay informed, and fight for the future of Forest Park.
You can email your public comment to HearingsOfficeClerks@portlandoregon.gov. If you would like some guidance on crafting a public comment, you can refer to this guide prepared by Bird Alliance of Oregon for the first round of public comment. During this stage, we strongly encourage the use of arguments based on the project’s legal issues and environmental impacts as those will be how the project is assessed. Here are some of our chief arguments regarding this project:
- No Info on Future Phases: Phase 3 of the Harborton Reliability Project proposes to cut over 370 mature healthy trees in the north unit of Forest Park to upgrade transmission lines. PGE has stated that phases 4 and 5 will similarly impact an additional 15 acres of Forest Park yet no application for these phases has been filed with the City.
- Ecological Damage: Logging, heavy equipment operation and infrastructure installation will destroy the local habitat, compacting and potentially eroding soils reducing the chances of vegetation surviving in the park. Carbon sequestration from trees, soil, and wetlands will also be lost.
- The Proposal Violates the Forest Park Management Plan: The City must deny PGE’s application because it violates the conditions of the 1985 Forest Park Management Plan. Because alternative routes for transmission line upgrades exist outside of the park. Their proposal to mitigate the loss of habitat understates the value of this unique ecosystem and doesn’t remotely mitigate the loss, and doesn’t mitigate the loss within the north unit of the park as is required by the Plan.
Sierra Club’s Oregon Chapter will also be hosting a watch party and assisting those who want to testify at the hearing. Join Sierra Club’s in-person watch party!
Informational Hub Page:
As mentioned before, we have created a new hub page to share information on the Harborton Reliability Project and our opposition to it. On this page, we have put together information on the project’s details, some of our chief arguments against the proposed project, ways you can become involved, resources from other organizations, and more. We will also be updating this page as the approval process continues with ways for you to get involved and new resources.
Raising awareness of the Harborton Reliability Project and its potential impacts is a really important part of our fight for Forest Park. If you have friends, family, or know anyone else who cares about Forest Park and local conservation efforts, we encourage you to help get the word out and share this page with them.
Visit the new informational hub page: forestparkconservancy.care/harborton